The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have hosted a dinner for Commonwealth leaders as CHOGM got under way in Rwanda.
Among their guests were the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, who held several meetings with the Prince through the day.
It’s the first time that Prince Charles and Boris Johnson have come together since it was reported that the heir to the throne objected to the UK government’s plans to deport some illegal immigrants from England to Rwanda.
The details of their discussions haven’t been revealed. Instead, the Prince and the Prime Minister briefly posed for photographers at a daytime meeting with their paths again crossing later at the official opening of CHOGM at the Kigali Convention Centre in Rwanda’s capital.
Speaking at the opening, Prince Charles expressed his personal sorrow at the suffering caused by the slave trade. Charles said ‘’ If we are to forge a common future that benefits all our citizens, we too must find new ways to acknowledge our past. Quite simply, this is a conversation whose time has come.’’
And he added ‘’ Our ingenuity, knowledge and ideas, our courage and determination, are truly our “Common Wealth”. By unlocking our potential we can build a future in which all our people have a stake, ensuring that our Commonwealth Charter represents not just words on a page, but the lived experience of all. And, in so doing, we will equip our children and grandchildren to be agents of a better future. ‘’
The Prince of Wales and the Prime Minster were later both at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Dinner held at the Marriott Hotel in Kigali.
Prince Charles, accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall, is representing The Queen at CHOGM which is being held for the first time, in person, since the pandemic. It’s also the first time that Charles has attended the meeting since it was confirmed that he will take the role of Head of the Commonwealth when he becomes Monarch.
