News
TRH host a gala evening for supporters of The Prince's Foundation for Children and The Arts
22nd April 2008
The Prince of Wales hosted a gala evening at Buckingham Palace this evening to thank supporters of The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts.
The charity, founded by His Royal Highness in 2002, aims to give children and young people the opportunity to get involved with the very best of the arts.
About 300 guests in black-tie and ballgowns enjoyed the performance in the grand setting of the Buckingham Palace ballroom.
Some of the country's leading stars of screen and stage, including Sir Ian McKellen, Jeremy Irons and Jude Law joined the Philharmonia Orchestra for an evening of song, dance, music and acting.
The Prince's Foundation for Children and The Arts believes that the arts transform lives and are an essential component in shared humanity.
It specifically targets children who would not otherwise have the opportunity to be involved all art forms, including dance, theatre, opera, literature and the visual arts.
In a speech, The Prince said that childhood problems, including depression and bad behaviour, often have their root in an "increasingly fragmented approach to life" and "our lack of connection with each other".
The Prince said the arts have a "vital role to play in helping young children develop their full potential".
He said: "I've always felt one of the great problems we face in today's world is the increasing loss of awareness and connection with the great human stories that have always linked the generations.
"And we find the same thing with the loss of connection of where our food comes from, the stories about our food, the stories about our built environment and its connection with our cultural heritage, and indeed our connection with the great religious stories.
"So telling the story is absolutely crucial."
His Royal Highness said "many thousands" of children across the UK have no access to the arts and by the time the leave school they will never have set foot in an art gallery or been to the theatre.
"I happen to be one of those people, for what it's worth, who is deeply concerned at the incidence of childhood depression and children's behavioural and developmental conditions right across the United Kingdom.
"And I am convinced the root of so many of these problems lies with our dangerously fragmented approach to life, our lack of connection with each other and with our shared cultural heritage.
"The arts have a vital role to play in helping young people develop their full potential as human beings and as part of our society.
"To do this children really do need to feel that the arts are something they can access."
The Prince said he wanted Children and the Arts to be the means "by which we can reconnect younger generations to the harmony which is inherent in all our souls... that neglected and abused part of ourselves".
His Royal Highness said: "Restoration and re-balancing is so essential if we are ever to truly understand what sustainability is actually all about.
"It surely means keeping an eye on the spark of sensitivity to the great rhythms of life which only the arts can preserve, that window into another magical world."
The Prince praised the performers, the orchestra and the sponsors, and jokingly thanked "my mama, who has let us have the run of this place, proving that while the cats away the mice do play".
The idea first came to him when he was visiting a school for excluded pupils in a deprived area of Birmingham where the school children "sat with folded arms and looked rather angry".
After seeing a class being taught Romeo and Juliet he was inspired to arrange a trip for the children to a performance by the Royal Shakespeare Company and was delighted to receive letters from the pupils saying it was "the most wonderful thing that had ever happened" to them.
"We should concentrate on excellence and forget about elitism," he said.
The Prince said the idea also grew out of the fact he was introduced the arts at a young age and became "hooked for life".
His Royal Highness said he remembered being read to by his father, and the rhythm of the poem Hiawatha, by Henry Longfellow, had stayed with him.
After reciting part of the poem, he said: "All that rhythm has remained with me ever since and there's something very special about rhythm which plays such a profound part in our lives, and we forget it at our peril."
Afterwards, The Duchess of Cornwall, wearing a flowing blue gown, joined The Prince on stage to meet the performers, who also included actress Pauline Collins and soprano Renee Fleming.
Click here to visit The Prince's Foundation for Children and The Arts website.