Prince Charles pays tribute to Robin Williams

<![CDATA[As tributes pour in from around the world for the shock passing of actor and comedian Robin Williams, The Prince of Wales has also paid his respects to a man he knew quite well.
Prince Charles commented, "He was a remarkable man, whose wonderfully frenetic humour brought a special kind of laughter in to peoples lives. I greatly enjoyed meeting him on several occasions and his irreplaceable contribution to life will be greatly missed by countless people, including myself."

As Charles stated, he had met Robin Williams on a number of occasions. One notable meeting came in November 2008 when Robin was performing at the ‘We are Most Amused’ show in aid of the Prince’s Trust. Attending the event were Charles, The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry and at the time, it was the first time Robin had performed in the UK for 25 years. Mr Williams greeted the Royal quartet upon their arrival to the New Wimbledon Theatre in South London.
The comic launched straight in to his routine about the 2008 American Presidential Elections and he was joined throughout the night by other stars including John Cleese, Rowan Atkinson, Joan Rivers and Andrew Sachs.
Another noteworthy meeting of The Prince of Wales and Robin Williams came in May 2009 when he featured in another star studded event in aid of The Prince of Wales Rainforests Project. The event in question was actually an online film for the project and heavily featured Robin, as well as other stars including Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Pele.
The 90 second clip also featured cameo appearances from Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry and even the Dalai Lama. The entire cast of the short film appear alongside a digitally created amphibian and they all give the same message, in the words of Prince Charles, “global determination for change on a vitally important issue.”
Robin Williams was fully behind the cause and commented at the time, “There are so many things in the rainforest that must be preserved- I believe it is an exquisite part of the world. It needs us and, much more importantly, we need it. Please help.”
So it must be with great sadness that Prince Charles speaks these words this week, considering Robin Williams’ close association with the Royal Family. So as we at Royal Central say goodbye to one of the world’s greats please remember one of his own quotes, “Carpe Diem. Seize the day and make your lives extraordinary.”
photo credit: Catholic Church (England and Wales) via photopin cc
 
 ]]>