‘He will make his own mark’
KING CHARLES HAS SHOWN WILLINGNESS TO ENGAGE, SAY LEADERS
Lord Simon Woolley, founder and director of Operation Black Vote and principal of Homerton College, Cambridge: Soon after George Floyd was murdered in America, the Prince’s Trust invited me to speak to their trustees.
I gave an impassioned speech, and I said they should use all their powers to be on the right side of this argument. Within an hour after that speech, I got a call from the prince’s secretariat saying that he would like to meet me.
This was at the height of Covid, at the end of the first summer when we were just coming out of lockdown. So I assumed a meeting would be on Zoom, and I said ‘yes, this is my email address, let’s have a meeting.’ But they said ‘Prince Charles wants to meet you at his house for a 30-minute meeting.’
We meet not in his normal meeting room, but on the first floor, which houses his apartment. There were about four or five of his team, and he just sat in front of me with a cup of tea for the supposedly 30-minute meeting.
He asked me what the issues were. I explained that what happened in America has happened, and could happen again, here. It’s not just about the police. It’s about the infrastructure that persistently works against black and brown people. It needs to be acknowledged, and we need to do something and give them hope.
The meeting went over two hours and the prince wanted to hear what we could do about it. I’ll never forget it, because from that meeting, we had several other conversations. We put in processes to raise millions of pounds in Bristol and London, and other places that’s ongoing.
The next year I got a call to go to Barbados with the prince’s team. My mother’s nation is Barbados, and it wants independence. The prince was going with the prime minister. The knives were out because how dare it wants to cut ties with the monarchy.
The prince said, ‘No, no, no, no. This is an idea that the people of Barbados have taken, and I want to respect it. I hope they stay in the Commonwealth where we can continue to be friends and support each other.’
So, there were two really big occasions where he could have turned his back, but he showed supreme leadership and took away the poison that could have been.
Equally impressive was that he said we had to acknowledge the atrocities by this country on the enslavement of Africans. There are still some uncomfortable questions the palace has to acknowledge and confront, but at least we are in a much better place, where conversations can be had.
Cyrus Todiwala, owner of Café Spice Namasté: King Charles respects every faith in this country, and that means everybody has an opportunity to practice their religion or whatever they believe in.
We forget the number of charities established by the royal family that help millions of people around the world. They have raised millions of pounds in this country and sent to Asia during the pandemic, during the floods, and for promoting education, giving help to poor people. All that the public doesn’t get to see.
We have a cultural, historic linguistic bond, and of course, trade; let’s not forget trade, commerce. Everything flows in and out. When it comes to higher education, we have students from the subcontinent studying in this country. That wouldn’t happen if we didn’t have a common language. We know students come and gain knowledge and impart it back to their own countries, and they get something out of it.
It will be the greatest mistake Britain makes if it abolishes the monarchy. People from all over the world come to Britain just to see Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guard, something the country has been doing for hundreds of years. We
can’t stop that.
Lord Karan Bilimoria, founder and president of Cobra Beer: I have been very fortunate to have known the king over the years, and I’ve seen first-hand how he too has the same work ethic, the same sense of duty, the same service leadership as the late Queen.
She was only 25 years old when she ascended to the throne. King Charles has had one of the longest apprenticeships possible. During this time, he has been able to make his own mark as an individual, with all the wonderful initiatives that he started, such as the Prince’s Trust and the British Asian Trust.
The king will be able to build on the queen’s legacy, so not only will he be able to carry on what she has done – which is phenomenal – but he will also have the opportunity to build on it in his own way, with the experience that he has had.