Royals from Around the World Gather at Auschwitz to Mark 80th Anniversary of Liberation
Today, world leaders will gather at Auschwitz to mark the 80th anniversary of its liberation, including royalty from around the world.
Among the royals attending the solemn affair are the UK's King Charles, Spain's King Felipe and Queen Letizia, Belgium's King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, Norway's Crown Prince Haakon, Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria, Denmark's King Frederik and Queen Mary, and the Netherlands' King-Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima, and Princess Catharina-Amalia.
"To be in Poland on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, as we commemorate eighty years since the liberation of Auschwitz, is both a sombre and indeed a sacred moment," King Charles said earlier today. He added, "As the number of Holocaust Survivors regrettably diminishes with the passage of time, the responsibility of remembrance rests far heavier on our shoulders, and on those of generations yet unborn. The act of remembering the evils of the past remains a vital task and in so doing, we inform our present and shape our future."
No politicians will speak at the event, only Holocaust survivors. The 80th anniversary is the "the last where we will have a visible group of survivors with us, and this is why it is so important to put the entire spotlight on the survivors," Paweł Sawicki, the deputy spokesman for the Auschwitz Memorial, said.
Here, see photos of royals attending the ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz:
King Charles and King Willem-Alexander were directed to their seats.
Denmark's King Frederik and Queen Mary were among the royal guests.
King Charles passes by Polish President Andrzej Duda and the Polish President's wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda as he finds his seat in the tent.
King Willem-Alexander wore a kippah out of respect; he was joined by his wife, Queen Máxima, who wore a black head wrap for the occasion.
Belgium's King Philippe and Queen Mathilde arrived with their arms linked, followed by King Felipe VI of Spain (second from left) and Queen Letizia (her face is obscured behind King Philippe in this photo).
King Charles sat next to Denmark's King Frederik. They both wore headphones to listen to translations of the speeches by survivors.
Queen Mathilde leaned over to speak with King Charles.
You Might Also Like
12 Weekend Getaway Spas For Every Type of Occasion
13 Beauty Tools to Up Your At-Home Facial Game
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
6 hours ago
- Boston Globe
When the National Guard went to LA in 1992, the situation was far different
In contrast with the isolated skirmishes seen in Los Angeles County over the past few days, there were neighborhoods in 1992 that had devolved into something resembling a lawless dystopia. Drivers were pulled from cars and beaten. Buildings were burned. Businesses were looted. In all, 63 people died during the riots, including nine who were shot by the police. The mayhem, which went on for six days, was rooted in Black residents' anger over years of police brutality. It ignited after four officers were found not guilty of using excessive force against King, a Black motorist who had been pulled over after a high-speed chase, even though videotape evidence clearly showed the officers brutally beating him. That anger had erupted before, notably in the Watts riots of 1965. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The violence in 1992 was also fueled by tensions between the Black and Korean American communities in the area, and by the shooting death of a Black girl by a Korean American shopkeeper. It got so far out of control that major-league sports events were postponed or moved to safer locations, dusk-to-dawn curfews were imposed, schools were closed and mail delivery was withheld in some neighborhoods. Advertisement Demonstrators protest the verdict in the Rodney King beating case in front of the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters in Los Angeles. Nick Ut/Associated Press On the third day of the violence, President George H.W. Bush activated the National Guard at the request of Gov. Pete Wilson and Mayor Tom Bradley of Los Angeles. Thousands of Army and Marine troops were sent into Los Angeles as well. Caravans including Humvees and other armored vehicles rolled into the city along the freeways. Advertisement The protests of 2025 bear little if any comparison to the widespread upheaval and violence of 1992. The protesters have directed their anger mainly at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, not at fellow residents, and the demonstrations have so far done relatively little damage to buildings or businesses. 'It doesn't appear to me that they're anywhere near close to needing the National Guard now,' said Joe Domanick, an author who has written extensively about the Los Angeles police. 'It looks like an opportunity for Trump to clamp down and use the military in ways that aren't necessary yet.' Much of the anger today is emanating from Latinos, the main group being targeted by federal immigration agents. Latinos make up a plurality of Los Angeles residents, hold many powerful political positions in the region and account for nearly half of the officers in the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. 'These organizations are going to be caught in the middle,' Domanick said. 'They've invested in community policing, to the extent that they could, and many of these officers have parents and grandparents who were probably undocumented. It's a very complex situation.' This article originally appeared in
New York Post
7 hours ago
- New York Post
Russia blasts Ukrainian maternity ward as it launches ‘one of the largest' airstrikes on Kyiv
Russia blasted a maternity ward in Ukraine overnight Monday as it unleashed one of its largest airstrikes of the war against Kyiv — firing more than 300 drones and missiles over the border, Ukrainian officials said. 'Today was one of the largest attacks on Kyiv,' President Volodymyr Zelensky said. 'Russian missile and Shahed (drone) strikes drown out the efforts of the United States and others around the world to force Russia into peace.' The mass bombardment, which followed the record airstrikes on Monday, lit up the sky in Kyiv for nearly five hours early Tuesday, leaving fires and smoke over the capital, witnesses told Reuters. 5 Kyiv suffered five hours of bombardments overnight in one of the largest Russian assaults on the city since the war began in 2022. Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images 5 Shattered windows littered the halls of a maternity ward in Odesa that was hit by Russian drones. REUTERS Ten districts in the capital were directly hit after the Ukraine Airforce could only intercept 277 of the 315 drones fired, leaving at least one person dead and four people hospitalized, Kyiv officials said. '[It's] a difficult night for all of us,' Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's city military administration, summarized on Telegram. Along with the assault on the capital, the drones also struck a maternity ward, an emergency medical building and a residential building in the southern port of Odesa, the regional governor said. The attack killed at least two men and injured nine others in the port city, but the patients and staff at the maternity ward were spared after evacuating the hospital, Gov. Oleh Kiper said on Telegram. 5 Ukrainian emergency responders continue to put out the flames from the early Tuesday strike in Kyiv. Ukrinform/Shutterstock 5 A woman sits outside a residential building that was struck by Russian drones in Odesa. AFP via Getty Images Footage from inside the hospital showed the aftermath of the blast, with a woman in hospital scrubs seen sweeping the shards of broken glass away as the maternity ward returned to operation on Tuesday. The Kremlin has fired 1,451 drones and 78 missiles over the past week, according to Ukraine's air force, the most intense airstrike campaign of the three year war. Monday alone saw Russia fire 479 Shahed drones and 20 missiles in a record strike that included Ukrainian military targets just 40 miles from the Polish border, triggering a NATO alert. 5 First responders carry a body out of a destroyed building in Odessa, where two men were killed by Russian airstrikes. UKRAINIAN EMERGENCY SERVICE/AFP via Getty Images Moscow had vowed to retaliate hard against Kyiv over the humiliating attack earlier this month that saw Ukrainian drones damage and destroy dozens of Russia's heavy bombers in 'Operation Spider Web.' The growing escalation of violence comes after peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv stalled, with no end to the war in sight despite the Trump administration's efforts to reach a cease-fire deal, which Russia has repeatedly rejected. With Post wires
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ukrainian refugees give Poland big economic boost, report says
WARSAW (Reuters) -Ukrainians have made a significant contribution to Poland's economy and have not caused a rise in unemployment or lower wages for Polish workers, according to a report from the United Nations' refugee agency UNHCR and Deloitte published on Tuesday. More than three years on from Russia's invasion, many in Poland have grown weary of the influx of refugees from their war-torn neighbour, a sentiment that both liberal and nationalist politicians have tapped into with promises to limit benefits for Ukrainians or give Poles priority in public services. "This report debunks several myths," Rafał Kostrzyński, a UNHCR spokesperson, told a press conference for the launch of the report. "It is not true that the impact of refugees on the Polish economy is negative." Poland has hosted over a million Ukrainian refugees and the presidential election in May saw a surge in support for far-right parties, driven in part by anti-Ukrainian sentiment. However, according to the report, Ukrainian refugees have contributed more to the largest economy in the European Union's eastern wing than they have taken out. Poles across the political spectrum agree that Warsaw must continue to support Kyiv's war effort. "By allowing Ukrainian refugees to immediately work and start small businesses ... Poland boosted its GDP by a whopping 2.7% in 2024," Kevin J. Allen, UNHCR representative in Poland, said in a statement. The report said Ukrainian refugees had helped Poland's economy become more specialised and productive, with no decline in employment for Poles and limited data suggesting the presence of refugees caused local wages to rise. According to the report, many Ukrainian refugees do work that is below their level of education, with only one-third of university graduates holding a position that requires a degree. Many are also held back because they are not fluent in Polish. The report says that addressing gaps in the integration of Ukrainians into the labour market could generate macroeconomic gains of 6 billion zlotys ($1.60 billion) annually. Poland's government did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the report. ($1 = 3.7408 zlotys)
