He was speaking to 250 guests gathered in the historic building, which does not have air conditioning.
Large fans were dotted around the rooms and the curtains were drawn to try to keep the heat out.
Sir Tony, who is responsible for the domestic workings of the royal residences and staff, only produced the electric handheld fan for the King halfway through the reception.
During his time at the event, His Majesty viewed the displays which highlighted the impact of super-pollutants and heard about the actions being taken to combat them by organisations ranging from the Clean Air Task Force and the Clean Air Fund to the Wellcome Trust.
Elsewhere, Mia Mottley, the prime minister of Barbados, and António Guterres, the secretary-general of the UN, made speeches before the King’s arrival.
In her address, Ms Mottley praised the monarch’s lifelong championing of the issue, saying he had “always been ahead of his time” and warned that “we are still not able to move to Mars”.
Packed schedule
The UK became co-chair of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition alongside Brazil in March 2024, a partnership of more than 200 governments, NGOs, and international organisations focused on reducing super-pollutants, including methane, black carbon, nitrous oxide, and tropospheric ozone.
It marked the King’s third engagement of the day, after he also joined the Afghan refugee women’s cricket team at Clarence House and surprised a star student with his jiu-jitsu black belt during a visit to a martial arts school.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.telegraph.co.uk ’
