1995 – Prince Charles unveils island’s Liberation Monument
It had been nearly 20 years since the then prince had first visited Guernsey.
In that time Charles had married, fathered his two children and shortly he would be divorced.
But none of that was on show, as he arrived in the Channel Islands to mark 50 years since Liberation. It was a bright sunny Liberation Day morning. The newly installed granite Liberation Monument at the Weighbridge was covered in a Guernsey flag, awaiting the arrival of the Prince of Wales.
His first stop was Beau Sejour, where he was greeted by a crowd of islanders and Bailiff Sir Geoff Dorey.
The mood was cheerful, but quite muted, with the crowd only giving quiet applause.
The prince went up to the leisure centre’s playing fields to inspect squads from the emergency services and the forces in full uniform.
After hearing a 21-gun salute from Castle Cornet, he went inside Beau Sejour, where former Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie led a service to 1,000 people in Sir John Loveridge Hall.
After listening to the service and the hymn O Worship the King, the prince and his party left the hall to the sound of music.
In the concourse more islanders awaited him, including youngsters in face paint and retired Second World War military personnel.
After a lunch at St James, he was off to the seafront, where thousands of islanders awaited him.
One group even chanted ‘We want Charles’.
When he arrived he was treated to a rendition of Sarnia Cherie by Crystal James.
One of the few people to speak to the prince was the monument’s technician David Le Conte.
‘I didn’t expect to speak to him,’ Mr Le Conte told future Guernsey Press editor James Falla at the time.
‘He asked about the calculations and I explained the opportunity it gave us to be very precise, as it’s just one day a year.’
Prince Charles read a message from the Queen to islanders, praising their work to move past the dark times of war and towards all nations living in peace.
Then came time to pull the cord of the monument’s cover.
Afterwards he headed back to his car, before remembering to go and speak to the islanders crowding the barriers.
He took the time to speak to a number and shake hands, before having to hurry over to Jersey for their Liberation celebrations.
