King Charles features in surprise birthday tribute to David Attenborough

King Charles has featured in a surprise birthday tribute to David Attenborough , with a cast of wild animals helping to relay his handwritten congratulatory centenary card. The whimsical film, A Very Special Delivery, begins with the king writing his tribute in the library of Balmoral Castle. Charles, wearing an animal-themed tie featuring elephants, reflects on more than 60 years of friendship with the renowned naturalist. As he writes, Queen Camilla’s rescue dog Moley scampers around his desk. The signed card is then borne on a silver salver by a butler to a waiting Land Rover. But disaster strikes. A fallen tree blocks the vehicle and what unfolds is a rescue mission by a roll call of heroic animals. Flynn the border collie leaps over a fallen tree as it takes off with the card. Photograph: BBC A border collie called Flynn takes off with the envelope in his mouth and a relay of birds and animals then carries, ferries and flies the card from the Scottish Highlands to towns and waterways across Scotland and England. At one point the card is carried wedged between the spines of a hedgehog. Eagles, a red squirrel, a flock of geese, an otter, a swan, a duck, a fox and a deer all play their part before, finally, a barn owl called Lily delivers the by-now tattered, travel-worn card through the letterbox of Attenborough’s London home. Swan-upmanship … A still from the film. …