Britain's Queen Elizabeth has praised her son Prince Charles for his charity work. The monarch paid tribute to the heir to her throne as she and husband Prince Philip visited his Prince's Trust charity headquarters Wednesday to mark Charles' 60th birthday on Friday.
She said: "As the Prince of Wales, our son, approaches his own 60th birthday, may I say that we are both enormously proud to have been reminded here today of his personal contribution to this remarkable organization."
"Countless lives have been transformed by the Prince's Trust, to which the Prince of Wales has brought vision and conviction."
"For Prince Philip and me there can be no greater pleasure or comfort than to know that into his care are safely entrusted the guiding principles of public service and duty to others."
During her visit, the queen described gun and knife crime as among Britain's most serious problems.
After meeting 26-year-old Ricky McCalla - who has set up a studio to encourage London youths to make music instead of committing crime with a grant from the Trust - the queen said gun and knife crime "seems to be one of the big problems at the moment," adding that music was a great way to reach the young.
Ricky's own promising dance career ended when he was left partly disabled after being shot in the neck in 2005,
Charles set up the organization in 1976 using his $11,000 severance pay from the Royal Navy after becoming concerned that too many young people were excluded from society because of a lack of opportunities.
From an original 21 pilot projects, the trust has expanded to having an annual turnover of more than £50 million, almost 8,000 volunteers and staff, and has helped more than 500,000 young people.
 |  |  | |
