King Charles III and Queen Camilla recently visited a north-east London borough to interact with community and faith leaders who are supporting refugees. Their visit came after a largely peaceful protest by more than 1,000 people outside an immigration centre in Walthamstow on August 7, as protests against unrest continued to spread across the UK. Buckingham Palace described the protest as an example of “true community spirit” in the area, pointing to community efforts to keep people safe.
On the visit, Queen Camilla donated 25 toys to Citizens UK for children in asylum hotels, while King Charles made a donation to a local food bank.
Queen donated 25 toys
The royal couple attended a reception at Waltham Forest Town Hall, where they celebrated the borough’s sense of community and interacted with locals. After the performance of children’s choir, Little Choir of Joy, by King Charles, he wished them a “very merry Christmas” and joked to take their “poor teachers” from this.
King talked to locals
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When Harvinder Rattan, Sikh faith representative asked, “How are you?”, King Charles smiled and replied, “I am still alive.” Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy, one of those to welcome the royals was eager to share how much it means for them to come considering that far-right groups had already started showing in the community. She made the vigilance against such groups crucial and said, “We never want to get to a place again where people are having to challenge the far-right on our streets.” In December 2023, Waltham Forest became an officially recognized Borough of Sanctuary with the City of Sanctuary charity.
