Dresden Peace Prize Awarded to the Duke of Kent

The Duke of Kent was presented with the Dresden Peace Prize today, in a ceremony at the Semperoper in Dresden, Germany.

The Friends of Dresden Deutschland annually present the prize to an individual who has worked to prevent the escalation of armed conflict, and chose the Duke as this year’s laureate because of his “contribution to the reconciliation of Great Britain and Germany.” The Vice Chairman of the organisation, Dr Günter Blobel, praised the Duke’s work, saying, “Reconciling countries previously at war with each other can be a strong, effective means of contributing to the timely de-escalation of conflicts or avoiding them entirely.”

During the ceremony, the former Prime Minister of Saxony Kurt Biedenkopf presented the Duke with his award, which is accompanied by a €25,000 prize.

In his acceptance speech, Prince Edward stated that “my own contribution…is but a very small part of a huge amount of work on the part of the Dresden Trust over many years.” From 1994, the Duke has been patron of the British Dresden Trust, which works to rebuild the relationship between Britain and Germany.

The Trust was established to raise funds to help the reconstruction of the Frauenkirche in Dresden, and in 2000, the city was presented with a golden orb and cross to sit atop the church’s dome by the Trust.

“The reconstructed Frauenkirche is a lasting symbol of the British-German friendship which grew out of the ashes. In remembering the past, we must look to the future and reinforce the message to the younger generation: never again,” the Duke concluded in his speech.

2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the Bombing of Dresden, which occurred between February 13 and 15 when British and American Air Forces destroyed a large portion of the city through aid raids.

Filed under The United Kingdom
Tagged Awards, Bilateral Relations, Germany, Official Visit, Patronage, The Duke of Kent, World War II.

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