Charles: My father protected Jewish boy
PRINCE Charles last night revealed that a young Duke of Edinburgh stepped in to help a Jewish schoolboy being targeted by classmates.
Charles, 71, spoke of his “pride” at the actions of Prince Philip, 98, and also the action of his late grandmother, Princess Alice of Greece, in hiding and protecting a Jewish family.
The Prince was speaking at a Palace reception in celebration of the Jewish community’s contribution to the UK.
He told of his family’s courage in protecting Jewish people and the significance of their links.
He said: “These ties come even more directly into the heart of my own family.
Mistreated
“In 1933, my father, spending a year in school in Germany, helped an older boy who had been identified as a Jew and badly mistreated by other boys.
“His act of compassion is a source of great pride and inspiration to me.”
He added: “If I may say so, I am immensely proud that my dear grandmother, Princess Alice of Greece, is buried in Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives.
“She is counted one of the Righteous Among the Nations for her actions in 1943 when, in Nazi-occupied Athens, she saved a Jewish family by taking them into her home and hiding them.
“When she announced her intention of being buried in Jerusalem, we all wondered how on Earth we were going to be able to visit her grave.
“She answered, ‘There’s a very good bus service from Athens!’
“It has, sadly, been the case that Jewish history in Britain has often been shadowed by the persecution visited upon Jewish communities elsewhere.
“As always, it is adversity that proves the real value of friendship,” added Charles.