An emotional moment between King Charles and a Holocaust survivor has been captured during a reception at Buckingham Palace marking Holocaust Memorial Day.
The King and Queen Camilla hosted the event on January 27, the annual day of remembrance held on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Survivors of the Holocaust and their families were invited to attend, one year after King Charles became the first British head of state to visit Auschwitz.
Among those present were 100-year-old Anita Lasker-Wallfisch and 98-year-old Helen Aronson.
Aronson was one of approximately 750 people liberated from the Lodz Ghetto in Poland, where around 250,000 people had been imprisoned during World War Two.
She was just 12 years old when the German army took her and her family into captivity. While Aronson survived alongside her mother and brother, her father was killed at the Chelmno extermination camp in Poland.
King Charles spent time speaking with Aronson, who was accompanied by her daughter.
During their exchange, the monarch held Aronson’s hands, and as he prepared to move on, she refused to let go, prompting her daughter to say, “let go of the king’s hand, let go of the king’s hand”.
During the reception, the King and Queen viewed portraits of seven Holocaust survivors, including one of Aronson. The portraits were commissioned by Charles during his time as Prince of Wales.
At the time, Charles said the portraits were created in the hope the survivors’ stories would serve as a “guiding light for our society”.
The artworks now form part of the Royal Collection.
The King and Queen also lit candles in tribute to those who lost their lives.
King Charles additionally met with the family of Holocaust survivor Zigi Shipper, who died in 2023 aged 93. His daughter, Lu Lawrence, attended with Shipper’s great-grandson, two-year-old Zigi Harrod, who is named in his honour.
During the encounter, the toddler showed the King his toy monkey, Fergus.
Six million Jewish people were murdered during World War II. Holocaust Memorial Day also commemorates the millions of others killed through Nazi persecution and in more recent genocides.
Images: Instagram
