King Charles is praised for his ‘convening’ power during an interfaith meeting at Buckingham Palace

The king was praised for his ‘convening’ power at an interfaith meeting at Buckingham Palace today.

Charles, 75, brought together faith leaders from across Britain to meet in the palace’s Blue Drawing Room to find ways to help different faiths work together.

He sat for about an hour with representatives of faiths including the Sikh, Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities.

It comes as the war rages in Gaza and tens of thousands of people have attended marches in London.

Charles heard how interfaith leaders wanted to build on the close work forged in response to Covid-19, reaching young people in schools and empowering teachers to discuss issues such as the Gaza conflict and facilitating mentoring programs for women.

Akeela Ahmed MBE, from London’s Muslim community, sat with the king and told him there was a “need for women to have leadership and mentoring programs” on interfaith issues.

Afterwards she said: ‘The King is here to act as an organizer and facilitator and it is clear that he cares deeply about the communities.

“Now that the King is meeting and facilitating, it encourages us to come out and come together to ease the impact on tensions.”

Canon Doctor Andrew Smith, Director of Interfaith Relations in Birmingham, said: ‘There have been many good interfaith relationships over the years, especially during Covid-19.

‘Geopolitics influences this and puts pressure on relations. People are feeling really hurt and angry and really struggling.

‘Having the King means this is taken seriously. His questions were genuinely concerned questions and it is enormously encouraging. We have to keep things going.’

Meanwhile, Jodie Franks from Stand Up! Education Against Discrimination, representing the Jewish community, said afterwards: ‘I spoke to the King about the importance of interfaith relations at a local level for young people, specifically in a school environment.’

Her group sees people from Jewish and Muslim communities visiting schools to speak about Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

She added: ‘We find that teachers are nervous about broaching these difficult topics and don’t feel confident having conversations in the classroom, so children are not having these conversations in the safe space of the classroom, but in the halls.’

The meeting aimed to discuss the challenges their communities face, and the ways in which greater cohesion and community can be promoted among them.

King Charles, 75, was talking to several people sitting at a round table

The King met with several people from different British communities at Buckingham Palace today

He participated in a roundtable discussion on the challenges these communities face

King Charles listened attentively as individuals expressed their thoughts during the roundtable discussion

The king invited members of several British women-led communities and religious leaders to Buckingham Palace

The meeting at Buckingham Palace follows the King’s visit to Lambeth Palace Library in November, where His Majesty joined leaders from Britain’s communities to mark Inter Faith Week, which aims to strengthen relationships at all levels.

It has also emerged that interfaith leaders will take part in the Windsor Leadership Program at Windsor Castle, where senior leaders from all faiths will explore ‘faith, trust and friendship’.

The invitation-only group of 18 faith leaders will meet at Windsor Castle to “examine the complex challenges troubling our nation” and “discuss how we, as leaders, can positively change our troubled society for the better in this era of toxic behavior.”

The discussions will be confidential and will meet for the first time in the new year. Although not convened directly by the king, the project does have his blessing.