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King and Queen visit refugee 'sanctuary' borough

Reuters King Charles speaks to a woman in wearing an elaborate embroidered headscarf and dress. The King is wearing a blue suit with a light coloured tie. Reuters
The royal couple attended a reception at Waltham Forest Town Hall

King Charles III and Queen Camilla visited a north-east London borough to meet community and faith representatives who provide support and guidance to refugees.

Their visit came after more than 1,000 people peacefully gathered outside a Walthamstow immigration centre on 7 August amid fears of unrest - at a time when there had been disorder across some parts of the UK.

Buckingham Palace said the peaceful protest demonstrated the "true community spirit of the borough, coming together to keep people and communities safe".

During their visit, the Queen 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.

PA Media Queen Camilla, wearing a dark blue dress, hands over a Christmas-red bag containing toy stuffed animals to a representative of Citizens UK, as two people look on. PA Media
During the visit the Queen donated 25 toys to Citizens UK

The royal couple attended a reception at Waltham Forest Town Hall that the council described as a "celebration of the spirit of the borough's community", and waved at crowds who had gathered outside.

After listening to a performance by a children's choir, A Little Choir of Joy, the King told them: "I do hope you have a very happy Christmas."

PA Media King Charles, wearing a black overcoat, points and laughs. In the background are a group of schoolchildren wearing festive hats. PA Media
The King talked to local people and heard a performance by a children's choir

The King 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".

Asked "How are you?" by Sikh faith representative Harvinder Rattan, the King smiled as he replied: "I'm still alive."

Among those greeting the royal couple in the town hall was Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy, who said the visit meant "a lot".

Reuters The Queen, in a dark blue dress, speaks to a woman who is wearing a bright orange dress and a multi-coloured headscart. In the background people look on. Reuters
The royal couple attended a reception at Waltham Forest Town Hall that the council described as a "celebration of the spirit of the borough's community"

Speaking after the visit, the Labour MP said: "The far-right are very active in our local community, and they continue to come and protest here.

"That means that we as a community have to be constantly vigilant and it means a lot that the King has recognised the community, the grassroots activism.

"We never want to get to a place again where people are having to challenge the far right on our streets."

Waltham Forest was officially recognised as a Borough of Sanctuary by the national charity City of Sanctuary in December 2023.

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