A few odds and ends that happened this week:
- The Prince of Wales visited Leicester on Wednesday to meet people currently working with and/or benefiting from services provided by his charity, the Prince’s Trust. Clarence House provides a full rundown here.
- Charles, along with his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, helped to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day services held today. The Prince gave a speech at London’s event, saying:
“But Holocaust Memorial Day is not just a memorial to those six million innocent Jewish men, women and children – it is also universal because the Jews in this story represent all of us.
“That is why the Holocaust is not just a Jewish tragedy, nor merely a dark page from the Second World War, but a warning and a lesson to all of us of all faiths in all times.
“The memory of this suffering and the unspeakable, yet almost incredible, details of the Nazis’ diabolical enterprise can help future generations, wherever they may be, understand not just what happened across Europe, but how this came to happen.”
- Prince Harry, before going on a jog through north London on behalf the Running Charity, recreated a photo of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, at the Depaul Trust Hostel taken with the organization in 1995.
- There are rumors of a “row” between the Duke of Cambridge and the British Academy for Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) over whether or not the Duchess of Cambridge should accompany her husband to the organization’s annual awards event. According the story, Prince William, as president of the Academy, has made it clear that he plans to attend and would like to bring his wife. BAFTA, on the other hand, is concerned that Kate’s presence will overshadow that of the actors and actresses being honored. Whether or not this is true, I don’t know. I doubt it. BAFTA, for their part, has responded to the gossip with: “For clarity – this is nonsense. As we confirmed last night it’s completely untrue that BAFTA has suggested that our President attend on his own. We would be delighted to welcome Their Royal Highnesses any year that they are able to attend.”
For context, William was sharply criticized for failing to attend the event last year, which was held at Kensington Palace. Indeed, the last time William did attend a BAFTA event publicly was in 2014, alone. He presented Helen Mirren with an award, joking that he should “probably call her granny,” referencing her role as Elizabeth II in 2006’s “The Queen.” This year’s ceremony will be held on Sunday, February 12 and William and Kate are both expected to attend.
- In addition to a previously-scheduled engagement with Place2Be on Monday, February 6, Kensington Palace has announced that William, Kate and Harry will take part in a training run on behalf of Heads Together, ahead of April’s scheduled marathon, on Sunday, February 5. This is a pretty regular clips of engagement announcements for the young royals. January has seen three for Kate, alone, while three are already on the books for the first half of February. In comparison to previous years, which have seen a slower start to early months, William and Kate do appear to be ticking up their engagements.