King Charles arrives for a service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor to mark the 75th anniversary of the Windrush crossing.
The King will attend the service with schoolchildren and representatives from the Prince’s Trust, the Prince’s Foundation, Project Zero and the Amos Bursary.
A choir from St Martin-in-the-Fields High School for Girls in Tulse Hill, South London will sing; Poetry will be recited by children; And students at the Royal Drawing School in Shoreditch, east London, will capture the process on paper.
Charles said it comes as it is ‘vitally important’ to recognize the ‘immeasurable’ difference the Windrush generation has made to Britain.
His comments were in the foreword to a book that accompanies an exhibition of portraits celebrating the Windrush generation on its 75th anniversary.
King Charles III arriving for a service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, Berkshire
The milestone is being marked with events across Britain, including a national commemoration today at Southwark Cathedral.
A scandal, which erupted in 2018, saw many British nationals, mostly from the Caribbean, denied access to healthcare and benefits and threatened with deportation despite having the right to live in the UK.
HMT Empire Windrush first docked in England on June 22, 1948, at Tilbury Docks in Essex, bringing people from the Caribbean who had responded to Britain’s call to help with post-war labor shortages.
A series of 10 new portraits will go on public display at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh today for the first time since being commissioned by Charles last year.
Windrush: Portrait of a Pioneering Generation honors the achievements of the Windrush generation and follows them.
In the foreword to the book with portraits, Charles said: ‘History is, thankfully and finally, beginning to give a proper place to those men and women of the Windrush generation.
‘The 10 portraits in this series, along with tributes to other members of that indomitable generation, are a small way of honoring their remarkable legacy.
‘It is, I believe, vitally important that we should really meet and listen to these pioneers who stepped out of the Empire’s windrush at Tilbury in June 1948 – just a few months before I was born – and who followed over the decades, to recognize them and they , celebrate the immeasurable difference their children and their grandchildren have made in this country.’
Charles arrived for the service this morning to recognize the 75th anniversary of Windrush
King Charles III smiles with Delisser Bernard during a reception to mark the 75th anniversary of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush at Buckingham Palace in London on June 14
King Charles III and Queen Camilla with Linda Hay, Lecetta Reed, Gilda Oliver, Carmen Esme Munro, Edna Henry, Jessie Stephens, Delissa Barnard, John Richards and Alford Gardner during a reception at Buckingham Palace on June 14
King Charles III speaks with Edna Henry during a reception at Buckingham Palace on June 14
King Charles III speaks with John Richards during a reception at Buckingham Palace on June 14
Queen Camilla with Lacetta Reid (second left) and her family at Buckingham Palace on June 14
He added: ‘Those pioneers, who arrived in a country which they had learned from afar, left behind what was known to them.
‘Many served with distinction in the British Armed Forces during the Second World War, just as their fathers and grandfathers had in the First World War.
‘Once in Britain, they worked hard, offering their skills to rebuild a country in peacetime and looking for opportunities to build a better future for themselves and their families.
‘When they arrived on our shores with little more than they could carry with them, few could have imagined how they and those who followed them would make such a profound and lasting contribution to British life.’
Charles said it was his ‘fervent hope’ that the portrait project serves as a reminder that ‘our society is woven from different threads, each composed of extraordinary stories of courage and sacrifice, determination and strength’.
He added: ‘Although drawn from different parts of the world, they collectively enrich the fabric of our national life and the extraordinary tapestry of the Commonwealth.
‘This year, as we honor the legacy and achievements of the Windrush generation, I very much hope that we can embrace differences, hear each other’s stories and learn from each other’s experiences.
HMT Empire Windrush with Caribbean men arriving at Tilbury harbor in Essex on June 22, 1948, responding to Britain’s call to help with post-war labor shortages
HMT Empire Windrush pictured docked in Southampton on March 28, 1954
People from the Caribbean are greeted by RAF officers from the Colonial Office after the ex-troop HMT Empire Windrush lands them at Tilbury on June 22, 1948.
‘It is these stories that help light the way forward and remind us of a fundamental truth: although we may all be different, every person, no matter their background, has something unique to contribute to our society that makes us stronger. all.’
Last week, Charles hosted a Buckingham Palace reception where he met 10 people whose faces have been immortalized in paint and was given a special preview of the artworks to mark the 75th anniversary.
The sitters were chosen by the Windrush Portrait Committee appointed by Charles and chaired by Baroness Floella Benjamin, with Paulette Simpson, Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin and Rudolph Walker.
The portraits, created by black artists personally selected by the King, will be displayed for two weeks on 500 billboards and 600 shopping center screens across the UK.
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