The Duchess of Cambridge stepped behind the lens for a change and practised using a camera as she and the Duke of Cambridge met with young British-Caribbean creatives to mark Windrush Day.
Kate may be one of the most photographed people in the world, but she momentarily swapped roles on a visit to Brixton House in south east London and tried her hand at filming.
Visual artist Davinia Clarke, 22, who helped her operate a camera using a shoulder rig, said she had joked “you need a lot of upper body strength” to manoeuvre the equipment.
“(Kate) wanted to understand how to put it on and how to move it around.
“She was up for it and she did better than me,” Ms Clarke said afterwards.
“It’s really heavy, she was good.”
Meanwhile, William spoke with R&B musician Abdoulaziz Lelo Ndambi, 24, before nodding along as the singer played one of his tracks on a mobile phone and telling him he had a good voice.
“(William) said he was telling Kate it might be number one in the future, I pray it is,” Mr Ndambi said afterwards.
Kate and William attended the venue on Wednesday to meet with aspiring artists from the British-Caribbean community and other diasporas in recognition of the contribution made by the Windrush generation and their families to Britain.
They were greeted by youth workers at Elevate, a programme led by Lambeth Council which aims to increase opportunities in the creative industries for every young person in the borough.
The couple then attended a workshop led by production agencies Iconic Steps and Oxygen Arts and were shown various activities including filming and editing before speaking with a group of participants.
The visit comes after the couple’s Caribbean tour, during which William signalled any decision by Jamaica, Belize and the Bahamas to break away from the British monarchy will be supported with “pride and respect”.
Asked how she felt about the royal visit in light of the tour, Ms Clarke said: “It felt natural, it didn’t feel forced.
She added: “I hope it’s sincere.
“I think it’s important they’re trying to do something at least.
“I do think they have a genuine interest in young people and creativity.”
Singer-songwriter King Simpson, 24, whose grandfather was part of the Windrush generation, said: “I think it’s important as long as the energy behind this continues and as long as it helps those who have been impacted, those of Caribbean descent, and as long as it’s not just a show.”
The couple praised the work of young creatives including Jazmine Lowe, a fine arts student whose digital portraits Kate described as “amazing.”
“It’s really cool,” William said, while Kate told the young artist she was “very talented.”
Speaking with event organisers, William said the importance of community projects helping young people to enter the creative industries was even more marked “post-pandemic”.
“We all slightly went into our shells a bit,” he said.
“We were saying having a place like this is so important because the industry is so competitive.”
Next year marks 75 years since the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush at Tilbury docks in 1948, bringing 500 passengers from the Caribbean.
More than 100 leaders from politics, faith and civil society, sport, culture and business have signed a joint letter, published in The Times newspaper, starting the one-year countdown to the milestone.
They write: “This is not only black History, it is British history.
“It should be something we all know and commemorate.
“We call on the Government and all UK institutions, from politics to civil society, faith, culture, business and sport, to step up and fully play their part next year.”
William was speaking as he and the Duchess of Cambridge attended the unveiling of a national monument at London’s Waterloo Station to celebrate the dreams and courage of the Windrush generation who came to help Britain rebuild after the Second World War.
The monument is a 12-ft statue – of a man, woman and child in their Sunday best standing on top of suitcases – that was unveiled on Wednesday to mark Windrush Day.
In a speech to those who had gathered for the unveiling, which included Windrush passengers and high-profile members of the black community, William said: “We know without question that the Windrush generation have made our culture richer, our services stronger, and our fellow countrymen safer.”
William also spoke of the Windrush scandal which began to surface in 2017 after it emerged that hundreds of Commonwealth citizens, many of whom were from the Windrush generation, had been wrongly detained, deported and denied legal rights.
He said: “Sadly, that is also the case for members of the Windrush generation who were victims of racism when they arrived here, and discrimination remains an all too familiar experience for black men and women in Britain in 2022.
“Only a matter of years ago, tens of thousands of that generation were profoundly wronged by the Windrush scandal. That rightly reverberates throughout the Caribbean community here in the UK as well as many in the Caribbean nations.
“Therefore, alongside celebrating the diverse fabric of our families, our communities and our society as a whole – something the Windrush generation has contributed so much to – it is also important to acknowledge the ways in which the future they sought and deserved has yet to come to pass.
“Diversity is what makes us strong, and it is what reflects the modern, outward-looking values that are so important to our country.”
William spoke of the wide-ranging areas of British life which have been shaped by the work and skills of the Windrush generation and their descendants including commerce, manufacturing, sport, science, engineering and fashion.
They have also provided valuable work for the transport system and the NHS which was founded two weeks after the Empire Windrush docked in England in 1948.
The Government, which has provided £1 million in funding for the monument, said it “symbolises the courage, commitment and resilience of the thousands of men, women and children who travelled to the UK to start new lives from 1948 to 1971”.
It also acknowledges the Windrush generation’s “outstanding contribution” to British society and is intended to be “a permanent place of reflection”, it added.
Communities Secretary Michael Gove described the event as a “historical and profoundly moving moment” but also said “sorry” for the pain which had been caused by the Windrush scandal.
The Windrush generation had faced discrimination when they arrived in Britain and, in a reference to the scandal, he added “mistakes were made by the state”.
Mr Gove said: “I want to emphasise how sorry we in Government are for those mistakes. Words can’t make up for the hurt and anguish that was caused but lessons have been learned.”
The Queen also sent her congratulations on what she described as an “historic occasion”.
In a personal message, she wrote: “The unveiling at Waterloo Station on Windrush Day serves as a fitting thank you to the Windrush pioneers and their descendants, on recognition of the profound contribution they have made to the United Kingdom over the decades.
“It is my hope that the memorial will serve to inspire present and future generations and I send you my warmest good wishes on this historic occasion.”
Waterloo station was chosen because thousands of people who arrived from the Caribbean passed through the station on their way to start their new lives across the country, the Government said.
The unveiling is one of dozens of events and activities across England to celebrate Windrush Day 2022.
The first glimpse of the statue came when the drapes which covered the statue were gently pulled away by the royal couple, Windrush pioneers Alford Gardner and Joh Richards, both aged 96, plus a group of schoolchildren.
It was created by Jamaican artist Basil Watson, who said his monument pays tribute to the “dreams and aspirations, courage and dignity, skills and talents” of the Windrush generation who arrived with “a hope of contributing to a society that they expected would welcome them in return”.
He said: “My parents, along with a great many others, took the long arduous voyage from the Caribbean with very little or nothing other than their aspirations, their courage and a promise of opportunity for advancement.
“This monument tells that story of hope, determination, a strong belief in selves and a vison for the future.”
Familiar faces from the worlds of politics, activism, arts and entertainment were among the guests including Baroness Lawrence, the mother of murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence, London mayor Sadiq Khan, actor Rudolph Walker, chefs Levi Roots and Ainsley Harriott, plus former police superintendent Leroy Logan.
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