King Charles returns from Transylvania solo trip to attend concert celebrating his coronation – exactly a month on from the big day… while Harry battles it out in the High Court
- The event saw anthems including Zadok the Priest performed for a sold-out crowd
- Also commissioned portraits of ten pioneering members of Windrush Generation
The King has returned from his solo trip to Transylvania, attending a special concert featuring music from his coronation exactly a month on from the big day.
Organised by chamber music organisation Wigmore Hall at London church St James’s – the event saw iconic anthems including Zadok the Priest performed in front of a sold-out crowd.
Performed by French baroque ensemble Le Concert Spirituel, the anthem was sung by famed British baritone Roderick Williams.
The monarch also commissioned leading artists from Britain and abroad to create portraits of ten pioneering members of the Windrush Generation yesterday – marking the 75th anniversary of the ship’s arrival to British shores.
BBC Arts announced that it will release a 75-minute documentary, ‘Windrush: Portraits of a Generation’, covering the project to commemorate National Windrush Day on June 22.
Organised by chamber music organisation Wigmore Hall at London church St James’s – the event saw iconic anthems including Zadok the Priest performed in front of a sold-out crowd
Charles presented Judith Weir, Master of the King’s Music, with honorary membership of the Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS), in recognition of her services to music
The monarch also met a number of guests throughout the evening, including BBC Radio 3 controller Sam Jackson, rabbi baroness Julia Neuberger, Jeneba and Dr Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason and musicians of Le Concert Spirituel
It comes as King Charles ignored the furore over Prince Harry’s dramatic High Court appearance, as he was spotted still abroad in a Romanian village this morning.
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It came as Harry today became the first royal to testify for more than a century as part of a phone hacking trial in which he alleges that around 140 articles published between 1996 and 2010 by Mirror Group Newspapers contained information gathered using unlawful methods.
But the King looked in high spirits during tonight’s concert, as Charles presented Judith Weir, Master of the King’s Music, with honorary membership of the Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS), in recognition of her services to music.
The monarch also met a number of guests throughout the evening, including BBC Radio 3 controller Sam Jackson, rabbi baroness Julia Neuberger, Jeneba and Dr Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason and musicians of Le Concert Spirituel.
John Gilhooly, director of Wigmore Hall and RPS chairman said: ‘It has been a huge honour to welcome His Majesty The King to this very special concert.
‘The occasion is a wonderful reflection of 21st century cosmopolitan Britain, where the Head of State is celebrated by French musicians performing German music at a Catholic church with historic links to Spain, in a concert organised by an Irishman.
‘I am particularly pleased that His Majesty was able to present the RPS honorary membership to Judith Weir.’
Performed by French baroque ensemble Le Concert Spirituel, the anthem was sung by famed British baritone Roderick Williams
It comes as King Charles ignored the furore over Prince Harry’s dramatic High Court appearance, as he was spotted still abroad in a Romanian village this morning
The completed portraits created by the King’s Windrush project will become part of the Royal Collection and stand as a lasting memorial to all the men, women and children who came to Britain from the Caribbean and gave so much of themselves to rebuild a nation devastated by war.
READ MORE: No royal reunion: King Charles tours village in Romania during five-day solo tour of the country as Prince Harry appears at the High Court in London to give evidence in phone hacking trial
The sitters, selected from across the UK, have been chosen by The Windrush Portraits Committee, a sub-committee of the Windrush Commemoration Committee, comprising Baroness Floella Benjamin, the Right Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Mr Rudolph Walker and Ms Paulette Simpson.
Earlier in the same day the King waved to onlookers while visiting Viscri village in the central Transylvania region of Romania.
He was surrounded by security as locals lined up eagerly to take photos of him.
It was the monarch’s first time travelling abroad since he was crowned on May 6.
The monarch owns at least 10 properties in Romania, and it has become an annual tradition for Charles to visit the country for a walking holiday.
In the past, Charles has spoken fondly of the country and his time in the Carpathian Mountains, saying the land is ‘in his blood’.
He said during his visit last June: ‘There is a sense of age-old continuity here. A virtuous circle where man and nature are in balance.’
Charles has familial ties with Transylvania, thought to be a descendant of Vlad the Impaler – also known as Vlad Dracula – who claimed to have killed 23,000 people during battles against the Ottoman Empire.
The real-life Dracula’s name is said to have been the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel.
King Charles III waves to the audience as he arrives to visit Viscri village, central Transylvania region, Romania, yesterday
The monarch owns at least 10 properties in Romania, and it has become an annual tradition for Charles to visit the country
A cow passes by King Charles’ house in Viscri as a security guard checks the invited guests on his list shortly before the king’s arrival
The monarch’s maternal great-great-great grandmother, Klaudia Rhedey, was also born and brought up in the region.
Klaudia, a Hungarian speaker, married into German royalty and was known as the Princess of Teck. Her granddaughter, Queen Mary, was wife to George V and Charles’s great-grandmother.
Charles bought his estate in Valea Zalanului, Szeklerland, in the 1990s and now rents it out as a nature retreat to those wanting to explore the Zalán Valley and the surrounding mountains.
The guest house he will stay at is situated near to the village of Viscri, and is decorated with traditional antique Transylvanian furniture and textiles.
There are no televisions or radios in any of the rooms, just books, and guests are expected to dine together.
Daily activities on offer include horse riding, walks through a wildflower meadow named after Prince George, and trips to the nearby mineral pools.
The King has visited Romania numerous times and set up the Prince of Wales Foundation Romania to support the development of farming, traditional skills and the preservation of historic buildings.
Prices range from about £100 to £300 a night depending on the size of room and whether or not guests have chosen full or half-board.
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