The King has unveiled ten Windrush generation portraits that he said embody his hope that Britain will always “embrace difference”.
The new portraits, depicting “pioneering” members of the generation, have been released to mark the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush in England in June 1948.
“This year as we honour the legacy and achievements of the Windrush generation, I dearly hope that we can continue to embrace differences, listen to each other’s stories and learn from one another’s experiences,” the King said in a new BBC documentary about the commission.
His Majesty, as Prince of Wales, commissioned the Windrush portraits in 2022, to acknowledge the “profound” impact of the Windrush Generation on Great Britain.
The sitters were selected by the Windrush Portraits Committee, appointed by the King and chaired by Baroness Floella Benjamin, OM, DBE, Paulette Simpson, CBE, Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin, MBE, and Rudolph Walker, CBE.
The portraits were all created by black artists who were personally selected by the King.
