Duke of Susses showcases care for Earth Day with edited photos

The British media celebrated it writing that ‘the Duke of Sussex is an amazing photographer’ and he chose Earth Day to give a proof of that, as he posted 8 of his stunning images about nature on Instagram, in order to share his environmental point of view. "Today is #earthday - an opportunity to learn about, celebrate and continue to safeguard our planet, our home," the caption read.

Sussex, is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex.  Sussex has three main geographic sub-regions, each oriented approximately east to west.  The name derives from the Kingdom of Sussex, which was founded, according to legend, by Ælle of Sussex in AD 477.  It was invaded by the Romans and is the site of the Battle of Hastings. The Duke of Sussex is sixth in line to the throne and the younger son of The Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales. His Royal Highness spent ten years working in the Armed Forces, ending operational duties in 2015. During his service, he conducted two tours of duty to Afghanistan with the British Army.

The height of counterculture in the United States, 1970 brought the death of Jimi Hendrix, the last Beatles album, and Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” War raged in Vietnam and students nationwide overwhelmingly opposed it. At the time, Americans were slurping leaded gas through massive V8 sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. “Environment” was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news.

Earth Day 1970 gave voice to that emerging consciousness, channeling the energy of the anti-war protest movement and putting environmental concerns on the front page. Earth Day is an annual event celebrated on April 22. Worldwide, various events are held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First celebrated in 1970, Earth Day now includes events in more than 193 countries, which are coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network.

Prince Harry's commitment to protecting the environment has been talked about widely. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex  used their own wedding day as an action against ocean pollution by asking well-wishers to support certain charities instead of offering gifts.    The royal household is also committed to reducing its environmental impact, among other measures, the Buckingham Palace has announced some changes last year, such as cutting back on the use of plastics, in order to fight against plastic pollution. 

Prince Harry posted a spectacular wildlife album on his official Instagram page to mark this year's Earth Day !   immediately it was reported that juding by his spectacular photographs of African wildlife, the Duke of Sussex is something of a natural behind the lens.  But while the camera never lies, Harry’s pictures of a rhino, elephant and lion don’t quite tell the full story.

Here is something reported in British media today and reproduced from MailOnline.  Anyone glancing at them quickly could be left with the impression that capturing images of these mighty creatures at such close quarters would have required a thrilling – possibly life-endangering – pursuit across the bush. But the reality is that all three animals had been stunned by a tranquilliser before the prince clicked the shutter.  The elephant had also been tethered – but because of the way the picture was edited, Harry’s Instagram followers were unable to see the rope around its hind legs.

The edited photograph from  another angle shows that the elephant had been tethered, as well as tranquilised !  so much for the Westerner’s care and concern fro animals .. .. and they often campaign that in India elephants are chained and treated badly and should be recovered and released !!   the Duke however, notably avoided explaining the circumstances in which the images were taken – the tranquillised animals were in various states of comatose as they were being relocated as part of conservation projects.

It is unknown where Harry’s close-up image of a lion’s eye was taken but he posted it in the same Instagram album as the others. When shown the pictures, top wildlife photographer Christiaan Kotze was unimpressed.  He said: ‘He [Harry] is on the front line and has access that very few people including professional photographers would ever dream of having.  A spokesman for the Duke declined to discuss the photos, though sources denied the rope was deliberately edited out of the elephant picture, claiming instead that ‘it was due to Instagram’s format’.

Every now and then news crops of the real happenings, but they would always denounce other Asian countries stating that animals are not being treated fairly.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

28^th Apr 2019.