King Charles has paid tribute to fallen servicemen and women in Guyana, meeting a 99-year-old Second World War veteran during an engagement in Georgetown.
The monarch visited the Georgetown (Rabbit Walk) Memorial alongside Guyana’s Prime Minister, Mark Anthony Phillips, where they laid ceremonial wreaths in honour of British, Guyanese and Commonwealth forces who lost their lives in conflict.
Buckingham Palace shared footage of the King’s meeting Donald Grant, who served with the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
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Clearly moved by the encounter, Donald was heard asking the monarch: “Is this the hand of the King? Is this the hand of the King?”
He added: “I can’t say much, but it’s all in my heart.”
The meeting offered a touching moment during Charles’s two-day State Visit to Guyana, which has also brought renewed attention to the country’s complex history and its links to Britain.
During the visit, the King paused for a moment of reflection at a site in Georgetown where dozens of people were publicly executed following the brutal suppression of the Demerara Slave Rebellion of 1823.
King’s attention to Guyana’s conservation efforts
The monarch’s programme also included a visit to the Global Biodiversity Alliance Conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, where he was accompanied by Guyana’s President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, and Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo.
Charles toured exhibition stands and heard from environmental organisations working to protect Guyana’s rich biodiversity.
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