The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visited Coventry earlier this week as the city begins to celebrate its status as the UK’s City of Culture 2021.
In a jam-packed day of events, the royals visited many locations and organisations involved in highlighting Coventry throughout the year. On the city’s official website, they wrote: “This is the city where movement began, from innovation in the transport industry to a history of activism. Our city has moved people for centuries.
“For a whole year, we will celebrate our city with events, music, dance, theatre, and large-scale spectacle. As well as these big celebrations, our city will show its unexpected side, with more intimate experiences and ways to get involved across every ward of the city.”
The royals began their visit at Coventry Cathedral, which is celebrating its 59th consecration year this year. The religious site is also one of the cornerstone areas for the city’s designation as one for peace and reconciliation, and the royals attended a brief service for the Litany of Reconciliation.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe royals met with the Bishop of Coventry and the Dean of Coventry during their visit, and a tour of the facilities as well to learn about its storied history. Before leaving, Prince Charles laid a wreath at the Altar of Rubble and was shown the Reconciliation Statue, the Peace Bell and the Stalingrad Madonna, important relics of the cathedral’s history.
Next, Prince Charles and Camilla travelled to the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum to watch a short performance by artists involved in the UK City of Culture celebrations and to tour the exhibition 2 Tone: Lives and Legacies.
The exhibition, tracing the history of the 2 Tone record label founded in Coventry in the 1970s, allowed the royals to meet with gallery curators, musicians on the 2 Tone label, and to view memorabilia on loan for the year.
Afterwards, Prince Charles attended a reception for the British Asian Trust to meet with the local Indian community who are helping to fundraise with the Trust’s Oxygen For India campaign in support of those impacted by the coronavirus devastation in India. Some of the people Prince Charles met with have friends and family back in India who are being aversely affected by the pandemic.
In a short statement, Prince Charles thanked the community for their support, saying: “I cannot thank the Indian community enough here, the diaspora, and of course the wider community, globally for supporting all these people so in need.
“You are making such a difference and it does make me very proud.”
Prince Charles then traveled to Bonds Hospital to celebrate the 75th anniversary of The Almshouse Association, of which he is patron. At the same time, Camilla travelled to the Coventry Central Library to launch ‘One Million Reads Coventry’, where residents are pledging to read 1 million books by 2022.
Embed from Getty ImagesCamilla delighted children at the library by reading the classic children’s book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
“We know how important literacy is to Her Royal Highness and we were delighted to be able to demonstrate the full range of library services. Who better to help us kick off our One Million Reads challenge!” said Councillor George Duggins, the head of the Coventry City Council to reporters.
“Libraries play such an important role in bringing communities together and it’s been such a difficult year, so as Covid restrictions lift and we are able to open the doors again it has been a wonderful boost to have such a special visitor.”
Camilla also met with students at the Eden Girls School to view projects they have been working on in support of the library’s teen services; viewed a selection of books in different languages that the Coventry Central Library holds as part of a ‘Reading Friends’ collection; and watched a performance by Off Balance Dance for its older dance students.
Next, Prince Charles travelled to the Daimler Powerhouse where he met with the artists there who create both outdoor and site-specific work. He then boarded a heritage boat named Scorpio to travel up the Coventry Canal Basin, where he watched more performances from groups for the UK City of Culture celebrations.
Embed from Getty ImagesCamilla’s final visit of the day was the charity Panahghar, which provides refuge to Black, Minoritised Ethnic Women who are leaving situations of domestic violence during the coronavirus pandemic. The charity supports women in need in both Coventry and Leicester.
Camilla met privately with staff and women using the charity’s support, and her visit was not publicised until after it was over. Of her visit, the charity’s interim CEO, Sandra Manak said, “It has been wonderful to welcome Her Royal Highness to Panahghar and be recognised for the hard work and commitment that we offer to our community and service users on a daily basis. This has been a very good opportunity for us to highlight the issues that BME women experience as well as the importance of retaining specialist BME services such as ours. We hope to continue to grow and enhance our services.”
