Heir apparent to the British throne Prince Charles made a private donation to the Peres Center for Peace and innovation on Wednesday - marking the first time a member of the British royal family has made an official personal donation to an Israeli cause.
While donations from the British royal family are usually made through funds and are kept confidential - the palace has chosen to make Prince Charels’ personal donation publicly known - though the specific amount donated was not disclosed.
Prince Charles is known as a friend to Israel and has visited the Jewish state numerous times throughout the years.
The heir apparent has attended Shimon Peres' funeral in 2016, with his last visit being in January of this year as part of the World Holocaust Forum held at Yad Vashem to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi concentration camp.
During his latest visit, Charles has also paid a visit to the grave of his grandmother, Princess Alice, who is buried in the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, Judaism's oldest and holiest cemetery.
"The contribution to the Peres Center reflects the impact of the prince's visits to Israel, and the importance of the relations between Britain and Israel," said British Ambassador to Israel Neil Wigan.
The Peres Center for Peace was established in 1996 by late president and prime minister Shimon Peres, who was knighted in 2008 by Prince Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II, for his extraordinary work in advancing peace.
The chairman of the Center for Peace, and Peres’ own son, Chemi Peres published a statement thanking Prince Charles for his donation.
“It is a great honor to be the first Israeli organization to receive a donation from a member of the British royal family. The generosity of His Excellency Prince Charles allows the center to continue to promote Shimon Peres' legacy for a better future for all of us," Peres said.
"Especially in the midst of a global pandemic, it is important to reach out to others, even between countries and across borders. I thank Prince Charles for choosing to walk hand in hand with us on the path of peace and innovation."