King marks 80th anniversary of West Sussex diplomatic centre

The institution, which has operated from Wiston House in West Sussex since 1951, organised a two-day dialogue in Georgetown on sustainable urban development across the Commonwealth.

Government representatives, city leaders and investors attended the event, held ahead of the 2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

The King joined delegates at the conclusion of the talks and viewed an exhibition of photography commissioned to mark Wilton Park’s anniversary.

His involvement comes 30 years after he addressed the institution’s 50th anniversary celebrations in 1996, when, as Prince of Wales, he spoke about faith and environmentalism.

Tom Cargill, chief executive of Wilton Park, said the UK's foremost multilateral facilitator has spent 80 years ‘bringing people together to work through the world's hardest problems through open, honest discussion’.

He added: “It was a profound honour to mark that anniversary with a visit from His Majesty The King, whose commitment to dialogue and environmental stewardship goes back decades, including to our 50th anniversary.”

Wilton Park was founded in 1946 by Sir Heinz Koeppler to help educate German prisoners of war and support the rebuilding of democracy in post-war Germany.

It moved to the 16th-century Wiston House five years later and has now spent 75 years in West Sussex.

An executive agency of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, it brings together ministers, diplomats, business leaders, academics and civil society representatives for discussions on international policy.

Topics have ranged from post-war European reconstruction to security, climate change and sustainable development. Its first conference on climate change took place in 1972.

According to Wilton Park, it now holds about 80 events a year, involving more than 3,000 participants from over 100 countries.