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Prince Charles and Camilla visit Rwanda in first-ever royal visit
Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, have made history after touching down in Rwanda to mark the nation’s first-ever royal visit.
The Prince of Wales met with survivors of the Rwandan Genocide in Kigali ahead of the summit of Commonwealth Leaders, where he is representing the Queen.
During their visit, Charles and Camilla laid a wreath at Kigali Genocide Memorial and visited a church outside the capital, where remains of victims are buried.
In 1994, Hutu extremists in Rwanda targeted the Tutsis and moderate Hutus in a horrific three-month killing spree, which left an estimated 800,000 people dead.
Charles said, according to an official: “We must ensure it never happens again.”
CNN reported Charles was “visibly moved” as he was shown around the church grounds.
After laying the wreath, Charles met with President Paul Kagame and first lady Jeanette Kagame.
The historic trip is the royal family’s first visit to Rwanda, which is a Commonwealth country. Rwanda is one of few Commonwealth nations the Queen has not visited.
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Charles will represent the Queen at the summit of Commonwealth Leaders, which had been postponed in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
His visit to Rwanda comes after reports emerged that the royal described the UK government’s plans to send asylum-seekers to the East African nation as “appalling”.
Earlier this month, The Times quoted an unnamed source who allegedly knew about Charles’ opinion on the controversial government plan.
“He was more than disappointed at the policy,” the anonymous source said. “He said he thinks the government’s whole approach is appalling.”
“It was clear he was not impressed with the government’s direction of travel.”
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Clarence House told CNN in a statement that the Prince of Wales remains “politically neutral”, much like the monarch and other senior members of the royal family.
“We would not comment on supposed anonymous private conversations with the Prince of Wales, except to restate that he remains politically neutral,” Clarence House said.
“Matters of policy are decisions for the government.”
According to The Times report, Charles was concerned the controversial asylum-seeker policy will overshadow the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit.