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Prince Charles has recorded verse by acclaimed poet and Catholic priest Gerard Manley Hopkins to show support for Christians at Easter.
The Prince of Wales, 72, has narrated the Hopkins poem God’s Grandeur which will be played during a virtual service on Sunday morning at Stonyhurst College, a Catholic boarding school in Lancashire where the Victorian cleric taught.
Sitting in front a grand bookcase, the royal, who was yesterday pictured having a socially distanced walk with his 94-year-old mother in Windsor, sported his signature look of a navy suit, white shirt, patterned tie and pocket square.
‘The Prince of Wales has recorded the Gerard Manley Hopkins Poem, God’s Grandeur, to show support for Christians around the world at Easter.
‘Easter is the most important festival of the Christian Church, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion, and Hopkins’s poem captures the hope and joy associated with that season,’ Clarence House said in a statement.
The poem begins with the lines: ‘The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
‘It will flame out, like shining from shook foil; It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil Crushed.’
Prince Charles has recorded verse by acclaimed poet and Catholic priest Gerard Manley Hopkins to show support for Christians at Easter. The Prince of Wales, 72, has narrated the Hopkins poem God’s Grandeur which will be played during a virtual service on Sunday morning at Stonyhurst College, a Catholic boarding school in Lancashire where the Victorian cleric taught
Hopkins was one of the most influential poets of the Victorian era who converted to Catholicism but gave up writing poetry after deciding to train to become a priest.
Some years later he took up his pen again when inspired to write a long poem in memory of five nuns who died in a shipwreck.
His poems were not published in full until 1918, almost 30 years after his death, and Hopkins’ use of language, new rhythmic effects and unusual word combinations were a huge influence on major literary figures like WH Auden and Dylan Thomas.
It comes after, Prince Charles met The Queen for a socially distanced walk in Windsor.
The mother and son looked delighted as they were pictured together for the first time since the Sussexes accused the Royal family of racism in their interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The charming new image of the Queen and Prince Charles enjoying a socially-distanced walk was snapped as they took part in a private engagement at Frogmore on the monarch’s Windsor estate, details of which will be released in the next few weeks.
While the latest picture was captured on a whim, it serves to provide a happy contrast to events of recent months.
Both the Queen and Charles have been deeply saddened by the acrimonious departure of Harry and Meghan as working royals and their subsequent emigration to California.
And as a doting grandmother and father they were also personally wounded by the bitter and highly damaging allegations that have since been thrown at them – and other Royal Family members – by the couple.
It comes as Prince Harry was spotted on a seaside stroll with his dog as he settles into the LA lifestyle after landing two jobs including a role as a Silicon Valley ‘chief impact officer’.
A relaxed Duke of Sussex, 36, wore his baseball cap backwards and sported a pair of sunglasses while frolicking in the sea and throwing a tennis ball for his black Labrador, Pula on Friday.
Mother and son appeared so happy and relaxed that when staff asked if they might pose for a handful of spur-of-the-moment pictures, they agreed.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles enjoy spring weather and pose for a portrait in the garden of Frogmore House in Windsor
The Queen, who turns 95 later this month, looked radiant. Wearing one of her famed headscarves with a green, full-length raincoat and black rubber boots, she smiled and laughed, with her gloved hands in her pockets
The Queen, who turns 95 later this month, looked radiant. Wearing one of her famed headscarves with a green, full-length raincoat and black rubber boots, she smiled and laughed, with her gloved hands in her pockets.
The Prince of Wales was more formally dressed in a favourite brown overcoat, shirt, tie and brogues, but looked equally delighted to be spending time with his beloved mother.
Behind them are the cherry trees, in full blossom, and daffodils that Frogmore House (as opposed to Frogmore Cottage, the Windsor home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex) is so famed for at this time of year, as well as a small stone bridge over one of the estate’s ornamental lakes.
