In one of his last official public engagements before acceding to the throne, King Charles III, then Prince of Wales, hosted a global symposium of allergy scientists. There, King Charles announced his determination to develop a partnership between his philanthropic organisation, the Prince’s Foundation, and world-leading allergists.
The idea of bringing the world’s leading allergy and environment experts together was first raised by Charles in 2018 after the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse who suffered a fatal anaphylactic reaction after eating a Pret a Manger sandwich containing sesame seeds. Charles has reportedly said he was “moved beyond words” by her death and the way her parents have “selflessly dedicated themselves to preventing other families suffering in the same way”.
The two-day global symposium on September 6 and 7 included 17 world-leading allergy experts from the UK, US, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong and Denmark.
Shortly after the symposium and following the death of his mother Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Charles became King. In his maiden speech to the nation, King Charles III said it would be impossible for him “to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply.” He then added “I know this important work will go on in the trusted hands of others.”
This article draws from reports in Sky News, Tatler, the Daily Mail and the Cumnock Chronicle. More information about the Prince’s Foundation can be found here.
