King Charles III made history on Monday (January 27) during a visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland.
According to People, the beloved royal is the first-ever British monarch to visit the memorial and attended a ceremony to engage with Holocaust survivors on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. A source close to the royal family told the outlet that the King has always made an effort to connect with survivors, but never in a manner as personal as this.
"While His Majesty has found many ways over the years to engage with survivors of the Holocaust, I know this visit to Auschwitz will be a particularly poignant one for him."
The source continued, revealing why the 76-year-old patriarch chose to travel to the concentration camp on the 80th anniversary of its liberation.
"That’s not only because of the significance of the anniversary, but as an opportunity for him to reflect on the many stories of suffering and courage he has heard from those who bore witness in the very location where they took place. As anyone who has visited the camp can avow, it has a profound impact on the soul, bringing home both the scale of the horrors and the lessons that must be learned for eternity."
King Charles will be joined by his eldest son, Prince William, who is also traveling to Kraków to meet with survivors, and Poland's president, Andrzej Duda.
"In that sense, it will be a deeply personal pilgrimage for The King - paying tribute both as man and monarch."
For more on King Charles, read: Buckingham Palace Reveals New Details On King Charles' Cancer Diagnosis.