Poet, 81, 'completely astonished' to win King Charles's gold medal for poetry

He said: "I was completely astonished and am still finding it hard to believe.

"I never imagined my poems would receive such extraordinary public recognition or that my name could ever appear on the same list as some of the poets whose work I've looked up to and loved for years."

The poet was born in Lichfield, Staffordshire, but has lived in Suffolk for the last 48 years with his wife.

The Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, said: "Michael is an incredibly gifted poet and is highly deserving of the King's Gold Medal for Poetry.

"Reading through (Mr Laskey's) Collected Poems, I was struck by how deceptively simple the poems are: apparently effortless, domestic, calm in voice and clear in their descriptions and observations - yet so often, in fact almost always, deeply moving, with last lines that cause an involuntary intake of breath, a wobble of the heart, or a shiver of the spine."

Mr Laskey's first publication, Cloves of Garlic, which came out in 1988, was a joint winner of the Poetry Business pamphlet competition.

He has since published six full poetry collections, two of which were Poetry Book Society recommendations.

One collection, The Tightrope Wedding, released in 1999, was also shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize.

The poet was awarded a British Empire Medal for services to Contemporary Poetry in 2015.

The King's Gold Medal for Poetry is awarded to a recipient from the UK or the Commonwealth.

The news follows His Majesty reflecting on a speech from more than 50 years ago in footage released for the monarch's Prime Video documentary, Finding Harmony: A King's Vision.

His Majesty has consistently urged for greater care with the environment and climate, as seen in clips from the Royal Family's Instagram dating back to 1970.

Kate Winslet, who introduced the clip and narrates the production, said: "At the time, public discussions about the environment were rare.

"So, when the 21-year-old prince gave one of his first-ever public speeches, many were shocked by what he had to say."

The King, in an old black and white speech, said: "We are faced at the moment with the horrifying effects of pollution in all its cancerous forms. There is the growing menace of oil pollution at sea.

"There is chemical pollution, discharged into rivers from factories and chemical plants, which clogs up the rivers with toxic substances and adds to the filth in the seas."

Charles smiled as he watched the clip, looking back on when he spoke about a matter that he still discusses often today.

He reflected: "Well, it was quite a long time ago, and I remember being, well, profoundly, you know, concerned about all this. It seemed crazy to go on without thinking carefully about how we manage all this."

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