King’s ‘incredible sense of curiosity’ praised during visit to soil exhibition

The curators of an exhibition celebrating the power and potential of soil have praised the King’s “incredible sense of curiosity” during his visit to a central London museum.

Charles met farmers and artists as he toured the Soil: The World at Our Feet exhibition at Somerset House on Wednesday.

He was also joined by families and representatives from The Royal Countryside Fund, a charity aimed at helping farms to be more sustainable, set up by him as the prince of Wales in 2010.

Charles with Bridget Elworthy and Henrietta Courtauld (Chris Jackson/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Chris Jackson

Bridget Elworthy, curator of the exhibition, said: “For a long time he’s been our number one soil hero, so to have him come in to celebrate this exhibition has been so exciting.

“The whole point of this exhibition was to get the wonder of soil out to as many people as possible, so having someone like the King come has been a huge thrill.”

She added: “I’m sure he’s engaged in so many things because he has such an incredible sense of curiosity and he’s so polite. But I feel like he was definitely really interested.”

Co-curator Henrietta Courtauld added: “He has such an interest and understands the importance of nature and working with nature and that’s so close to our hearts and values as well.

“There’s an area in the exhibition where you can actually smell the soil and he would smell that himself when he’s out in the garden and how that makes you feel so good.”

Charles also unveiled a plaque in the newly refurbished Salt Stair to mark the visit and the 25th anniversary of Somerset House.

As he unveiled the plaque he remarked, “that’s an interesting way of doing it”, referring to the cover of the plaque which he was required to pull off.

Speaking to farming families, he asked what type of farming they undertook, their ambitions for the future and how they had heard about the Royal Countryside Fund.

Members of the public await the arrival of the King (Chris Jackson/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Chris Jackson

Moving around the various displays, the King was particularly interested in Jo Pearl’s Unearthed Mycelium ceramic, asking how she made the piece and what it was made out of.

He joked: “So how many went wrong before you got it right?” She assured him only once.

Speaking to various artists, Charles told the director of the exhibition: “It’s remarkable how you have done it all.”

Charles also met Helen Browning, farmer and chief executive of the Soil Association, who he hugged fondly.

Leaving Somerset House, Charles joked “you have to be very fit” after climbing the stairs.

He was then met with crowds cheering and clapping outside the building. One person was heard to shout: “We love you.”

The King waved at the crowd before approaching a member of the public to ask: “Which exhibition are you trying to get to see? Is it the soil exhibition?”

He was waved off by the cheering crowd.