King jokes ‘I’m still alive’ during visit celebrating Walthamstow community
The royal couple attended a reception in celebration of community cohesion at Waltham Forest Town Hall.
The King joked that he was “still alive” during a visit with the Queen to Walthamstow after August’s peaceful anti-racist protest in the area.
The couple attended a reception in celebration of community cohesion at Waltham Forest Town Hall in east London on Friday, and greeted crowds who had gathered outside.
Asked “How are you?” by Sikh faith representative Harvinder Rattan, the King smiled as he replied: “I’m still alive.”
During the visit, Camilla donated 25 toys to Citizens UK, to be passed on to children living in asylum hotels, and a donation to a food bank was left on the King’s behalf.
The donation included Waitrose cartons of long-life milk, Christmas puddings, custard and mince pies.
He then joked that the children in the choir, made up of eight to 12 year-olds from schools in the borough, should “make the most of it” for the “poor teachers”.
Charles was presented with a Christmas card from the choir, with messages written inside which included “Your majesties, thank you so much for visiting us today” and “hope you enjoyed our singing”.
Following the town hall engagement, Charles visited the nearby William Morris Gallery and viewed its William Morris & Art from the Islamic World exhibition.
The area in north-east London was one of hundreds of locations earmarked for protests, and there with fears of widespread unrest.
Among those greeting the royal couple in the town hall was Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy, who said the visit “means a lot”.
Speaking after the royals departed, the Labour MP told the PA news agency: “The far-right are very active in our local community, and they continue to come and protest here.
“We never want to get to a place again where people are having to challenge the far-right on our streets.”
Buckingham Palace said August’s peaceful protest demonstrated the “true community spirit of the borough, coming together to keep people and communities safe”.
Waltham Forest was officially recognised as a Borough of Sanctuary by the national charity City of Sanctuary in December 2023.
