As I have written in the previous post, that Prince Charles of
Britain and his wife Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall at the request of the
British government were invited by Prime Minister Mitsotakis in Athens, to
celebrate the bicentenary of Greek Independence.
The Prince of Wales and his wife Camilla last visited Greece
in May 2018, and Prince Charles has visited Greece on two occasions, in an
official capacity. Of course, this trip
will have additional resonance given the Prince’s father was born in Greece into the Greek Royal Family.
The Greek War of Independence was waged by Greek
revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821-1830, 200 years ago. The
Greeks were later assisted by Great Britain, France and Russia while the Turks
were helped by Egypt and other North African countries. The war led to the formation of the modern
Greek state, and two centuries on, it is a member state of the European Union
and is certainly something worthy of celebration, even while fighting against COVID-19.
Prince Charles and Camilla were greeted at the Athens
International Airport by Her Majesty’s ambassador to Greece, Kate Smith and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece, Nicos Dendias, with a
red carpet outstretched for a suitable royal welcome.
At the National Gallery, Charles and Camilla were met by the Greek
Prime Minister and his wife Marewa Graboski-Mitsotakis,
where they heard interesting speeches by the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendonis
and Professor Marina Lambraki-Plaka.
The Prince of Wales gave a touching speech, in which he
said: “My wife and I could not be more delighted to be back in Greece, which
has held the most special place in my heart.
After all, Greece is the land of my grandfather and of my father’s birth,
nearly 100 years ago, in the centenary of Greek Independence. Later it was in Athens that my grandmother
Princess Alice, during the dark years of the Nazi occupation, sheltered a
Jewish family, an act of which in Israel she is counted as “Righteous Among the Nations.”
Prince Charles continued: “I am feeling a profound connection to Greece, her landscape
and history and culture. I am hardly
alone there is something of her essence in us all. As the spring of western civilization, Greece
runs through our societies and democracies.
Without her, our laws, our arts and our way of life would never flourish
as they have.”
Towards the end of the speech that celebrated the ties
between Greece and Britain, the Prince of Wales said: “As we all work to
rebuild our societies and our economies from the unmanageable upheaval of
previous years and to set our world on a more sustainable path, we could take
some inspiration from the courage, determination and ambition of 1821. Once again the stakes could hardly be
higher. The choices we make will
determine the future not only of our nations but of this singular planet that
we all share,” at which point the Prince
of Wales introduced his “Terra Carta” initiative that Athens has agreed to enact. "The Terra Carter or the Earth Charter has
parallels with the Magna Carta. It aims to encourage the private sector to
safeguard the planet by adopting sustainability to invest 7.2 million pounds sterling (8.2 million euros) in natural capital by 2022."
The Prince of Wales concluded: “Your Excellencies, today, as
in 1821 Greece can count on her friends in the United Kingdom, the ties between
us are strong and vital and make a profound difference to our shared prosperity
and security. Just as our histories are
closely bound together so too, are our futures.
In this spirit tomorrow, your British friends, once again, will take
great pride in Dionysos Solomos’ rousing exhortation “Haire o Haire Lefteria –
Zeto e Hellas!”.
Dionysios Solomos
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