King Charles made the surprise visit (Image: PA)
King Charles was welcomed by huge cheers as he made a surprise visit to Golders Green in North London today, where he met both victims of last month’s antisemitic terror attack, as well as first responders who helped at the scene.
The King spent around an hour speaking with members of the local community and charity representatives in the predominantly Jewish area of north west London on Thursday as he sought to “reaffirm his steadfast support” for the Jewish community.
The monarch’s visit came just hours after Prince Harry wrote in the New Statesman to express his concern about the “deeply troubling” increase in attacks against the Jewish community.
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King Charles met members of the Jewish community (Image: PA)
King Charles surprised members of the Jewish community (Image: PA)
As the King’s visit got underway in London, he met Michael Shine, 76, who was stabbed at a bus stop during the terror attack just a stone’s throw away on April 29, as well as Shloime Rand, 34, who was stabbed as he left a synagogue. Both men suffered serious injuries, with Mr Rand later saying it was “a very big miracle” he had survived.
The King also met Yonathan Elkouby and Yitzi Lipsyc, volunteers with the Jewish police force Shomrim, who were involved in the response, and representatives from Hatzola, the Jewish ambulance service that was also targeted in an antisemitic attack in the early hours of March 23, when four ambulances were set on fire.
Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, and Sir Ephraim Mirvis, the Chief Rabbi, were among those to greet the monarch on arrival at local charity Jewish Care, in the heart of the community. “I’m glad I came to visit,” the King said. “Huge admiration.”
Chatting to Mr Shine and his sister, Doreen Friedman, the King expressed his support for the Jewish community and asked about Mr Shine’s injuries and his recovery. Mr Shine said there was “genuine warmth” in the conversation. He told the King that his visit was hugely welcomed as it “says so much.”
King Charles spoke with members of the community (Image: PA)
The King previously left little doubt about his personal thoughts after he became the patron of Jewish charity, Community Security Trust (CST), one day after the shocking firebombing of four Jewish ambulances in Golders Green.
The monarch’s decision was heralded as the ultimate “good news” the Jewish community could have heard.
The King has long affirmed his wish to be inclusive of all faiths, rather than just the Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England. This wish was made manifest when he had all denominations represented at his coronation in 2023.
His visit today followed a surprise new essay from Prince Harry on the worrying rise of antisemitism in the UK.
Prince Harry shared a new essay (Image: Getty)
It follows an increase of violent incidents targeting Jewish communities, which has seen the national terror threat level raised to “severe” for the first time in five years. In his article, Prince Harry referred to the recent attacks against Jews in Manchester and London and called for those protesting against events in the Middle East to be “clear” about where their anger is directed.
Prince Harry writes: “Across the country, we are seeing a deeply troubling rise in anti-Semitism. Jewish communities – families, children, ordinary people – are being made to feel unsafe in the very places they call home.
“That should alarm us, but also unite us. Because hatred directed at people for who they are, or what they believe, is not protest. It is prejudice. Recent incidents, including lethal violence in London and Manchester, have brought this into sharp and deeply troubling focus.”
Referring to his previous mistakes, which saw him photographed in a Nazi uniform and swastika armband in 2005, Harry wrote: “I am acutely aware of my own past mistakes – thoughtless actions for which I have apologised, taken responsibility and learned from.
“That experience informs my conviction that clarity matters now more than ever, at a time when confusion and the distortion of truth are doing real harm – even when speaking plainly is not without consequence. It requires responsibility from all of us. We cannot answer injustice with more injustice. If we do, we don’t end the cycle, we extend it. The only way to break it is to refuse to pass it on.”