The Prince of Wales – himself a former sufferer of COVID 19 – has reached for poetry to reassure Victorians that despite the darkness brought upon them by the coronavirus pandemic, better times will return.
"You will soon see sorrow go down with the sun," quoted the man who would be King of Australia in a message of hope to Victorians.
Recalling his relationship with Victoria that began with a "very happy six months" as a student 54 years ago at Geelong Grammar’s Timbertop campus in the state’s high country near Mount Buller, Prince Charles declared he had built a "special fondness" for Victoria.
Victorians, he said, like all Australians, had a reputation as tenacious and resilient "or indeed, as you might say in Australia, [they are] made of tough stuff."
However, referring to the bushfires and Victoria’s second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, he said that toughness had been put to a harsh test.
"My wife and I have endless admiration for your seemingly unceasing capacity for good humour in the face of great hardship," he said.
Prince Charles expressed his 'unceasing admiration' for Australians' capacity for good humour in the face of hardship - which has been sorely tested by the pandemic.
"However, I realise this capacity has been sorely tested this year which has surely been a tremendously difficult one for Australia and especially, if I may say so, for Victoria.
"I can only imagine just how incredibly hard it must be for you all, having had such early success in combating the virus, you now find yourselves in the midst of this second wave with all of its heartbreaking consequences."
In a message recorded in his book-lined study , Prince Charles, who tested positive to COVID-19 in March, quoted from the Irish Australian poet Victor Daley – a bohemian who died of tuberculosis in 1905 and wrote much about sorrow – to offer the promise of an eventual end to Victorians' current travails.
"It is out heartfelt wish," he said, speaking on behalf of himself and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, "That in the words of Victor Daley, the 19th century poet who found his voice in Victoria and who was himself no stranger to hardship, 'you will soon see sorrow go down with the sun'."
Prince Charles took pains to include in his message as many of those dealing with hard times as possible.
He spoke of those battling the disease, those caring for them and those who had tragically lost loved ones. His message embraced those whose businesses and employment were hit by the lockdown measures, and he included essential workers, who he praised for doing “a remarkable and utterly vital job”.
Charles knows more than most about the pandemic. In late March, he spent two weeks in self-isolation in the wilds of Scotland after testing positive for the virus.
Precisely how or where he contracted the disease could never be tracked because of the range of public events with which he is regularly involved.
Among the whirl of engagements he attended before testing positive was a large fundraiser for victims of the Australian bushfire disaster.
Once considered something of a dud as a future monarch, Prince Charles’s reputation has been on the rise for some time. It took a considerable upswing after he recovered for COVID-19 when he embarked on a campaign of video messaging and charity activism that won him plaudits across Britain.
And now, in what is one of the darkest hours in a year of dark times for Victorians, he is reaching for the hearts of the people who would be among his most far-flung subjects if - and when - he takes over as King from his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Tony Wright is the associate editor and special writer for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMijgFodHRwczovL3d3dy50aGVhZ2UuY29tLmF1L25hdGlvbmFsL3ZpY3RvcmlhL3lvdS13aWxsLXNlZS1zb3Jyb3ctZ28tZG93bi13aXRoLXRoZS1zdW4tcHJpbmNlLWNoYXJsZXMtc2VuZHMtbWVzc2FnZS1vZi1ob3BlLTIwMjAwODE4LXA1NW14Mi5odG1s0gGOAWh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLnRoZWFnZS5jb20uYXUvbmF0aW9uYWwvdmljdG9yaWEveW91LXdpbGwtc2VlLXNvcnJvdy1nby1kb3duLXdpdGgtdGhlLXN1bi1wcmluY2UtY2hhcmxlcy1zZW5kcy1tZXNzYWdlLW9mLWhvcGUtMjAyMDA4MTgtcDU1bXgyLmh0bWw?oc=5
2020-08-18 06:12:00Z
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