Prince Charles has received an honorary degree for his devotion to Romania.
The British royal – who made a three-day visit to the European country in March this year – has been bestowed with the honour by Cluj’s Babes-Bolyai University.
Prince Charles is a self-confessed admirer of Romania and has frequently visited the country – where he owns two properties in the north-west Transylvania region – over the last 20 years.
The award comes shortly after Prince Charles called for more "cultural connectivity" as he opened the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies’ new building.
The 68-year-old royal – who was in Oxford with his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall – spoke of the importance of an "empathetic and open dialogue across boundaries of faith, ethnicity and culture".
Speaking to guests gathered at the event to mark the opening of the new building, the British royal said: "Because, Ladies and Gentlemen, there has perhaps never been a greater need for cultural connectivity. In the world in which we now live, with fears about ‘The Other’ – whether that be Sunni, Shia, Jew, Christian, Yazidi, Hindu or Buddhist – stoked and spread through social media, and amplified by those who would seek to suppress understanding, rather than promote it, there is an urgent need for calm reflection and a genuinely sustained, empathetic and open dialogue across boundaries of faith, ethnicity and culture."
The Prince of Wales also said: "We need to rediscover and explore what unites rather than what divides us. And that involves a recognition that we have all learned from each other and should continue to do so.
"No one culture contains the complete truth. We are all seekers. And our search is – or should be – a collective human enterprise."
Prince Charles receives an honorary degree
