Today, The Queen led members of the Royal Family in attending the annual Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey.
It is the second time Camilla has led the Royals in attending a prominent family event – the first being for the memorial service for the late Constantine II of Greece last week. She was joined by The Prince of Wales.
Camilla led the Royals in this year’s Commonwealth Day Service. (Royal Family)
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, The Princess Royal, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and The Duke of Kent also attended today’s service, filing in behind the head of the delegation.
Each year, Commonwealth Day celebrates the worldwide community that forms the group. In 2018, Commonwealth leaders agreed that Prince Charles should succeed Elizabeth II as its head.
Guests were greeted by musicians outside the Abbey before being treated to speeches and performances inside.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. (Royal Family)
The Princess Royal at this year’s service. (Royal Family)
The event featured music from the likes of The Ghetto Kids, from Uganda, representing Africa; Calum Scott, and Jacob Portelli, for Europe; Pianist Spencer Klymyshyn, flying the flag for the Americas, followed by Isabella Moore and Benson Wilson, a soprano and baritone duo, representing the Pacific.
Whilst The King wasn’t able to attend today’s service due to undergoing treatment for cancer and has stepped back from public duties, he did give a virtual address.
The King opened his virtual address by stating the 75th anniversary of The Commonwealth is ‘a moment to reflect on the remarkable journey that our unique family of free and independent nations has made since 1949’ and the Commonwealth’s continued ‘growth, with new members continuing to join our family of nations, demonstrates clearly that whilst we may not all have a shared history, we have common ambitions for a better future – working together to build resilience and respond to global challenges’.
Speaking about how all the Commonwealth countries is ‘strongest’ when ‘connected, through friendship’, it is ‘like the wiring of a house, and its people, our energy and our ideas are the current that runs through those wires’.
🌎 ‘The Commonwealth is like the wiring of a house, and its people, our energy and our ideas are the current that runs through those wires. Together and individually, we are strengthened by sharing perspectives and experiences, and by offering and borrowing the myriad ways we… pic.twitter.com/Vhc2yxHp6c
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) March 11, 2024
As a society, Charles noted that ‘we recognise today that our diversity is our greatest strength’ and the Commonwealth represents a third of the global population with everyone ‘united by the many challenges we face – whether it be climate change, the loss of Nature, or the social and economic changes that new technologies are bringing’.
His Majesty stated ‘Our diversity means that these challenges affect us all differently and that we experience their impacts in different ways. Their seriousness, however, is common to each one of us’.
The King explained how all our collective problems mean we must understand ‘each other’s perspectives’, including ‘inequalities and injustices’. Stating how ‘we must find ways of healing, and to support each other to pursue solutions’, His Majesty stresses that ‘by coming together that we create the best chances to improve our world and the lives of people everywhere’.
Reflecting on his own 75th birthday, he concluded his speech by stating how it ‘warms my heart to reflect on the way the Commonwealth has been a constant’ throughout his own life and describes the Commonwealth as ‘a precious source of strength, inspiration, and pride’.
‘My belief in our shared endeavours and in the potential of our people remains as sure and strong as it has ever been. I have no doubt that we will continue to support one another across the Commonwealth as, together, we continue this vital journey’.
