King pledges to lend his watercolours to Polish cultural centre in London

The King has said he will loan a leading Polish cultural centre some of his watercolours after a plea from its gallery to exhibit his work.

Charles was reminded of a request made 15 years ago during his last visit to the Polish Social and Cultural Association (POSK) in west London to display his art.

He met a cross-section of Poles and people of Polish descent living and working in the UK, including 101-year old Eugeniusz Niedzielski, a Second World War Normandy veteran who was thanked by the King for his service.

When Charles arrived, Joanna Ciechanowska, an artist and manager of POSK’s gallery, asked him: “Have you brought your paintings, your beautiful paintings, to us?”

The King, who was being shown a small painting exhibition by Polish-born actor and set and stage designer Felix Fabian, replied with a smile: “No, sadly not,” then joked: “I’m not sure they’re that good.”

Polish culture on display for the King ranged from traditional dishes like pierogi – dumplings – to national dress and music.

He listened as the elderly war veteran told him about his experiences and said “thank you” at the end.

Mr Niedzielski served with the Polish 1st Armoured Division and was among the troops who landed in the second wave of Normandy landings. He fought during the decisive battle to capture Normandy at the Falaise Gap, where the Allies surrounded Nazi forces.

The 101-year-old described how he was deported to Russia from his homeland 85 years ago this month, something he described as ethnic cleansing, and warned: “They are doing exactly the same now in Ukraine – the Russians, they’re still doing the same thing.”