The Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge marked Windrush Day on Wednesday by carrying out two poignant
engagements in central London.
William and Kate started
their morning at Brixton House where they visited ELEVATE, a youth programme
aimed at helping under 30s develop skills to break into the creative
industries.
The royals were given a warm
welcome and were introduced to younger generations of the British-Caribbean
community, and other diasporas, who represent the next generation of British
creative talent.
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Their first engagement took them to ELEVATE in Brixton
They chatted to a group of
young people who were taking part in a filming and photography workshop, before
sitting down for a conversation about their career aspirations and hopes for
the future.
Davinia Clarke, 22, an
illustrator and visual artist who learnt how to use the camera during a course,
said of Kate: “She wanted to understand how to put it on and move it
around.
“I thought, ‘Let’s try
and put it on her.’ She was up for it! She did better than me. At one moment it
literally just dropped off my arm. I was like, ‘Oh gosh’ She said it was really
heavy, and you need a lot of upper body strength.”
While William listened to a
budding songwriter, Kate tried her hand with a shoulder-mounted video camera.
Led by the London Borough of
Lambeth, ELEVATE works with schools and colleges, training organisations and
employers to ensure that young people are able to build skills, access
opportunities and achieve successful careers within the creative industries.
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The royals then attended the Windrush monument unveiling at Waterloo station
Their second engagement of the
day took William and Kate to Waterloo station where they attended the unveiling
of the National Windrush Monument.
The monument symbolises the
courage, commitment and resilience of the thousands of men, women and children
who travelled to the UK from 1948 to 1971 to help rebuild post-war Britain, and
acknowledges and celebrates the outstanding contribution and dedication of the
Windrush Generation to British history.
It
depicts a man, woman and child in their Sunday best standing on top of
suitcases and was designed by Jamaican artist and sculptor Basil Watson, who
said it had been an honour to create the monument.
Waterloo station was chosen
because thousands of people who arrived from the Caribbean passed through the
station to start their new lives in the UK, the government, which has provided
£1m in funding for the project, said.
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William waved as he attended the monument unveiling
The service featured a musical
performance of the Windrush Anthem by Nadine Benjamin OBE, a poetry reading,
and a blessing from Bishop of Dover Rose Hudson-Wilkin.
William also gave a speech, as
did Baroness Benjamin and Michael Gove MP. At the end of the service, members
of the Windrush community, spanning generations, unveiled the monument.
Opening his speech, the Duke
said: “Thank you for inviting Catherine and me. It is a privilege to be
here with you all.
“Today is a day we
celebrate and honour the Windrush Generation and the enormous contribution each
and every one of them has made, and continues to make, to our society. I am
delighted that so many of that generation and their children, grandchildren and
great-grandchildren are here today.”
He continued: “When the
Windrush Generation sailed from the Caribbean to rebuild war-torn Britain, they
did so as British citizens, answering a plea to help our country thrive again.
Many of them were not strangers to these shores… These people didn’t have to
come.
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The service took place at Waterloo station
“They volunteered to
fight for King and country – in the full knowledge that many would never make
it home again. As one of the inheritors of that great military tradition, I
understand how much we owe to these men and women. Today’s ceremony would not
be complete without remembering their sacrifice.”
William thanked the Windrush
generation and the generations that followed for their contribution,
concluding: “Without you all, Britain would simply not be what it is
today.”
