Prince Charles backs diversity during Cambridge University visit

During a visit to Homerton College Prince Charles says he has supported inclusion and diversity for much of his life

The Prince of Wales has said promoting greater inclusion and diversity has always been "close to my heart".

He made the remarks during a visit to Homerton College at Cambridge University and said he had tried to support the issue for much of his life.

During his visit to to the city he also opened AstraZeneca's £1bn global Research and Development facility at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

He also spoke with traders at Cambridge Market.

At Homerton College, Prince Charles, who was met by the college's principal, Lord Woolley, said: "I could not be more pleased to hear about the excellent work being carried out to promote greater inclusion and diversity.

"As Lord Woolley knows, this is a subject which has always been close to my heart, and which I have sought to take forward, and to support, as much as possible much of my life.

"For our society to meet successfully the huge challenges before us, we will need all our talents and all our contributions.

"That is not simply a good intention - it is the most profound good sense."

"I have said before that our diversity is our greatest strength, and I become ever more convinced of that truth as time goes by and as I see fresh examples of that principle - as I do so clearly here today."

The prince spoke to students about Homerton College's vision to support students from diverse backgrounds

The prince held a private meeting with Lord Woolley, who is also an equalities campaigner and the founder of Operation Black Vote.

He became the first black man to lead an Oxbridge college after taking up his post last month.

He previously collaborated with the Prince's Trust on addressing disadvantage among people from ethnic minorities.

He also attended a session on "Get In Cambridge" to discuss access to education and learn of the college's vision to welcome and support students from diverse backgrounds.

In March, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, in an interview with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey, accused an unnamed member of the royal family of making a racist remark about their son, Archie, before he was born.

In the aftermath, the Duke of Cambridge defended the monarchy against accusations of racism, saying: "We're very much not a racist family."

The Prince of Wales also opened AstraZeneca's new global research and Development facility in Cambridge

Opening AstraZeneca's new £1bn Discovery Centre research facility, the prince was told how the firm had supplied more than two billion doses of its Covid-19 vaccine.

The new centre, on the campus which also contains Addenbrooke's and Royal Papworth NHS hospitals and GlaxoSmithKline's Experimental Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology Unit, will accommodate more than 2,200 scientists,

Prince Charles was given a demonstration of how augmented reality helps with Hololens technology during a visit to AstraZeneca's new facility

"I must say it has been absolutely fascinating to see at least some of the work that takes place inside this centre and to think that - supported by interactions across the city and beyond - it will ultimately enhance and save the lives of untold millions of people around the world in the years and decades to come," said the heir to the throne.

Earlier in the day he visited Cambridge Market to meet traders

Earlier in the day he visited Cambridge's city centre market, taking time to talk with stallholders and shake the hands of some of the hundreds of people who came to see him, from behind barriers which circled the markets place during his visit.