<p>Britain's Prince Charles spoke of his experience of coronavirus, saying he was fortunate to have only mild symptoms and that he hopes the pandemic will refocus efforts on the environment.</p>.<p>"I was lucky in my case and got away with it quite lightly," the 71-year-old heir to the throne told Sky News television in an interview broadcast on Thursday.</p>.<p>"I can so understand what other people have gone through. I feel particularly for those who've lost their loved ones but were unable to be with them at the time.</p>.<p>"That's to me the most ghastly thing," he said.</p>.<p>Queen Elizabeth II's eldest son contracted COVID-19 in March and has spent his isolation and recovery at the monarch's sprawling Balmoral estate in northeast Scotland.</p>.<p>His wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, did not contract the virus, and self-isolated separately in case she developed symptoms.</p>.<p>The couple were seen last month at Balmoral, laying a wreath to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.</p>.<p>He called the outbreak, which has officially claimed more than 40,000 lives in Britain "an unbelievably testing and challenging time", which has forced people to reassess their lives.</p>.<p>Charles, a long-time campaigner on the environment, said his experience had made him even more determined to champion the cause, to improve life for everyone around the world.</p>.<p>He said it was important to put "nature at the centre of everything", warning that by destroying the environment, the risks to life increased.</p>.<p>"We should have been treating the planet as if it was a patient long ago," he said.</p>.<p>"So, no self-respecting doctor would ever have let the situation... reach this stage before making an intervention hence the precautionary principle, which seems to me absolutely essential."</p>
<p>Britain's Prince Charles spoke of his experience of coronavirus, saying he was fortunate to have only mild symptoms and that he hopes the pandemic will refocus efforts on the environment.</p>.<p>"I was lucky in my case and got away with it quite lightly," the 71-year-old heir to the throne told Sky News television in an interview broadcast on Thursday.</p>.<p>"I can so understand what other people have gone through. I feel particularly for those who've lost their loved ones but were unable to be with them at the time.</p>.<p>"That's to me the most ghastly thing," he said.</p>.<p>Queen Elizabeth II's eldest son contracted COVID-19 in March and has spent his isolation and recovery at the monarch's sprawling Balmoral estate in northeast Scotland.</p>.<p>His wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, did not contract the virus, and self-isolated separately in case she developed symptoms.</p>.<p>The couple were seen last month at Balmoral, laying a wreath to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.</p>.<p>He called the outbreak, which has officially claimed more than 40,000 lives in Britain "an unbelievably testing and challenging time", which has forced people to reassess their lives.</p>.<p>Charles, a long-time campaigner on the environment, said his experience had made him even more determined to champion the cause, to improve life for everyone around the world.</p>.<p>He said it was important to put "nature at the centre of everything", warning that by destroying the environment, the risks to life increased.</p>.<p>"We should have been treating the planet as if it was a patient long ago," he said.</p>.<p>"So, no self-respecting doctor would ever have let the situation... reach this stage before making an intervention hence the precautionary principle, which seems to me absolutely essential."</p>