King Charles III
On the occasion of his 75th birthday, Britain’s King Charles III hosted a special reception at Buckingham Palace in London for Indian nurses and midwives, as well as other international professionals who contribute to the country’s state-funded National Health Service (NHS).
Indians make up the majority of the estimated 150,000 overseas nurses and midwives working in the NHS, which is also celebrating its 75th anniversary year.
On Tuesday evening, 400 nurses and midwives from India, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Kenya, among other nations, attended the reception honoring their contributions to the UK’s health and social care sector.
An Indian staff nurse working in Scotland, Shreejith Mulaleedharan stated, “It was a wonderful, once-in-a-lifetime experience meeting His Majesty the King. He’s an amazing and warm person”.
The founder and director of British Sikh Nurses, Rohit Sagoo stated, “It was a massive privilege to meet King Charles, tell him about the contribution that Sikh nurses have made in this country, and, of course, wish him a happy birthday”.
“We have a lot of Sikh nurses within the NHS doing lots of philanthropic work within the community as well”, Sagoo continued.
The reception was part of a packed day of royal events for the British monarch, who elected to work through his birthday and spent time engaging with many of the attendees in excellent spirits. He was surprised with a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ by the NHS choir and was given a birthday card from a schoolgirl who was also born on November 14.
“What a wonderful event where His Majesty has shown his appreciation and therefore our appreciation for the incredible people that come from all over the world, including India, to work in our NHS. They do so much for us”, Victoria Atkins, recently appointed Health Secretary in British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet reshuffle, stated.
“The links between the UK and India are so very close and I look forward to visiting India, with the permission of the Prime Minister”, Atkins added.
Earlier, the King was joined by Queen Camilla on a visit to an Oxfordshire food distribution hub to launch his Coronation Food Project, which aims to support charities feeding the country with unwanted food.
Gun salutes were fired around London, and Piccadilly Square was also lit up with a birthday message for the British monarch, who turned 75 on Tuesday.
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