On Wednesday, Prince Charles paid his first visit to Rwanda and lay a wreath at a memorial for the 1994 genocide there.
At the Kigali Genocide Memorial, the final resting place for more than 250,000 victims of the murders nearly three decades ago, the Prince of Wales and his wife Camilla took a moment to pay silent respect.
A garland of white flowers was presented with a note of remembrance that the royal couple signed.
They also met with survivors of the genocide, which took place between April and July 1994 and saw Hutu insurgents forces kill nearly 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis, over the course of about 100 days.
The memorial, which contains skulls, bone fragments, and pieces of clothes, is a sobering reminder of the horrors of the genocide and a frequent stop for international dignitaries in Rwanda.
Charles and Camilla also visited the memorial museum, where they saw images of the victims and their belongings and listened to firsthand accounts of the murders.
The Prince of Wales is representing his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, at a Commonwealth conference this week in Rwanda, where the royal pair arrived late on Tuesday.
In the following days, the heads of numerous Commonwealth countries are anticipated in Kigali for the gathering of the 54-member club of primarily former British colonies.
Formerly a colony of Germany and Belgium, Rwanda joined the Commonwealth in 2009 and has lately been advancing toward the English-speaking globe.
The Kigali Genocide Memorial, was opened in 2004 on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the massacres, includes an education center, a garden, a library, and a 1,200-seat amphitheatre where workshops, plays, and cultural films are shown.
The victims’ remains are arranged in three main rows, and as more graves are discovered across the nation, more have been buried.
The Wall of Names, located in the burial area, honors genocide victims.
