The Prince of Wales hosted a reception and dinner at Buckingham Palace last night, to mark the 10th anniversary of the British Asian Trust.
Invited guests, many from the United Kingdom’s Asian community, joined Prince Charles and Camilla at Buckingham Palace for the celebratory occasion.
Camilla has supported her husband, The Prince of Wales, on hundreds of engagements an visits abroad. Picture by Stephen Lock / i-Images
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Prince Charles and Camilla meet Naughty Boy
The British Asian Trust was established to combat poverty in South Asia, and many of the UK’s Asian community – successful in fields such as the arts, business and science – have become ambassadors for the Trust.
“There is still so much we can do together to make a difference in South Asia, a region which remains close to my and my wife’s heart.”
One such ambassador is rapper Naughty Boy who performed two of his hit songs, ‘Running’ and ‘La La La’. Real name Shahid Khan, the musician said that he was ‘petrified’ when first asked to perform at the anniversary dinner in front of the royal guests.
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“I was really petrified initially because there’s so much powerful energy here, but it felt right that I should be doing this” said the British rapper, who was performing alongside Bollywood star Kanika Kapoor, adding: “It’s an honour to perform at the Palace.”
Prince Charles founded the Trust in 2007 Charles and used the dinner to discuss with the 200 invited guests the Trust’s new 10 million US dollar (£7.2 million) Development Impact Bond, aimed at providing education to 200,000 Indian children.
The Prince told guests: “The British Asian community has excelled in almost every area of life, whether it be academia, the arts, media, or of course business, and has made a profound and indispensable contribution to the United Kingdom for many decades.”
He continued: “The diaspora is characterised, perhaps above all, by an extraordinary generosity and deeply held desire to help those who are most vulnerable and in need.
“The passion that my wife and I feel for the work of my British Asian Trust is driven by what we have seen for ourselves during our visits to South Asia when, as most recently in India last November, we have both been so deeply touched by the tremendously positive impact that the Trust is having on the ground.”
A truly memorable royal evening at Buckingham Palace last night, celebrating 10 years of the @britishasiantst transforming lives across South Asia #10YearsofChange With @NeelamKG @rizmc @TVSanjeev @TherealNihal and amazing performances by @NaughtyBoyMusic & @TheKanikakapoor pic.twitter.com/kEA7nICHnO
— Richard Hawkes (@R_Hawkes) 7 February 2018
Naughty Boy also praised the Trust for promoting cultural and racial diversity, saying it was “amazing” to see Meghan Markle, who is mixed-race, entering the Royal Family.
“I think this is part of the future,” he said. “The whole culture is shifting to accepting just everything. For the Royal Family to spearhead that – I think that’s amazing.”
He also spoke of the grant he received from The Prince’s Trust, another of Charles’ creations: “It’s helped me with my journey bringing me here, so the prince and me, we have a long history.”
