King Charles and Queen Camilla took a moment away from palace life to celebrate two decades of craftsmanship at Turquoise Mountain’s 20th anniversary exhibition.
The event, held at the Chelsea Barracks Garrison Chapel, highlighted artisans from Afghanistan, Jordan, Myanmar, Palestine and Saudi Arabia.
Among the demonstrations, Saudi weaver Fayza Al-Mansouri presented her complex technique to the king, who said: “I am so proud of you all” and asked if she had learned the craft from her mother.
The royal couple were then invited to participate themselves, applying the finishing touches of mother-of-pearl inlay to beautifully crafted Syrian jewelry boxes, each personalized with their numerals.
Moataz Hammoush said seeing the king handle the delicate inlay was “a mixture of pride and disbelief” and opened doors to markets and designers he could never have reached alone.
During the exhibition, Ms. Stewart, representative of the association, paid tribute to the king’s vision: “It is the community, the monarch, that you have brought together. No one else could have created this project.”
