King Charles has paid tribute to Holocaust survivor and Anne Frank’s stepsister Eva Schloss, who has died aged 96.

Eva was the co-founder and Honorary President of the Anne Frank Trust UK, of which Queen Camilla is Patron.

The monarch described her as a beacon of courage, love and legacy in a statement paying tribute to her life.

“My wife and I are greatly saddened to hear of the death of Eva Schloss,” he said.

“The horrors that she endured as a young woman are impossible to comprehend.

“Yet she devoted the rest of her life to overcoming hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding and resilience through her tireless work for the Anne Frank Trust UK and for Holocaust education across the world.

“We are both privileged and proud to have known her and we admired her deeply. May her memory be a blessing to all.”

Born Eva Geiringer in Vienna in 1929, Eva and her family went into hiding during the Second World War but were betrayed and deported to concentration camps in 1944.

She survived imprisonment at Auschwitz-Birkenau and returned to Amsterdam after the war with her mother. Her father and brother were killed during the Holocaust.

Following liberation by Soviet troops in 1945, her mother later married Otto Frank, making Eva the posthumous stepsister of Anne Frank.

King Charles and Eva shared a widely remembered moment during a Hanukkah celebration at a Jewish community centre in north London, where the monarch joined her on the dancefloor. 

Witnesses said the King was in high spirits as he took Eva for a twirl, to the delight of guests.

After the war, Eva settled in London, where she met and married Zvi Schloss. 

She went on to dedicate her life to sharing her experiences and advocating for Holocaust education worldwide, determined that the atrocities she witnessed would never be forgotten.

Her legacy endures through her books, public talks and the countless young people she inspired through the work of the Anne Frank Trust UK.

In 1990, Eva co-founded the Trust to empower young people to challenge prejudice by learning from Anne Frank’s story and the lessons of the Holocaust.

In 2024 alone, the Trust worked with more than 132,000 young people through its Schools Programme and trained just under 5,300 young people as peer educators. 

More than 45,000 young people have participated in its peer education scheme since its inception.

Images: Instagram