King Charles has been praised after Windsor Castle hosted a Ramadan meal and LGBTQ+ lecture over the last year.
Throughout the year, the royal houses play host to a number of diverse events, but this year some of them marked their debuts at the prestigious properties as King Charles was praised for his inclusivity.
A report released earlier this week by the Royal Collection Trust, who operate the royal palaces, said that “inclusion and diversity” had been on the agenda for the trust over the last year.
In an event to mark LGBTQ+ History month, there was an online lecture on “Queer Art and Artists in the Royal Collection”, and Alice de Quidt, assistant curator of Prints and Drawings told those in attendance: “Diverse forms of love and identity have always existed but they have all too often been left out of history or rewritten entirely.”
She added: “February gives us an opportunity to resurrect this history, bring it to the fore and celebrate it.”
Meanwhile, in March this year, Windsor Castle also hosted it’s very first Open Iftar, which is the moment that Muslims break their fast during Ramadan. The celebration, which was organised alongside Ramadan Tent Project saw 350 guests invited to St George’s Hall in Buckingham Palace to mark the special occasion.
Heaping praise on His Highness, the founder and chief executive of the Ramadan Tent Project, Omar Salha, told the BBC: “The King is an excellent ambassador for this cause and is committed to community cohesion. We are incredibly grateful for his support towards the British Muslim community.”
King Charles and Queen Camilla had previously marked the beginning of Ramadan as they met members of the Syrian community in London at the Imad’s Syrian Kitchen restaurant.
Meanwhile, in a written message earlier this year, King Charles marked Commonwealth Day by reaffirming his belief in the importance of diversity: “In these uncertain times, where it is all too easy to believe that our differences are problems instead of a source of strength and an opportunity for learning, the Commonwealth’s remarkable collection of nations and peoples come together in the spirit of support and, crucially, friendship.”
The focus on “inclusion and diversity” saw a year of firsts with the King’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace also playing host to its first ever event to mark LGBTQ+ History month in October, which explored “some of the queer figures represented within the Royal Collection.”