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King Charles III paid an official visit to the Cambridge Central Mosque, described as Europe's first eco-friendly mosque, becoming the first reigning British monarch to visit a mosque in the United Kingdom.
The king met the mosque's imams, trustees and members of the Cambridge Muslim community, including Türkiye's Ambassador to London Osman Koray Ertas and Cambridge Mosque Trust Board members Zeynep Coskun Koc and Selim Argun.
The Cambridge Central Mosque was built with contributions from the Turkish Diyanet Foundation and opened in 2019 in a ceremony attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
During his visit, King Charles toured the mosque and received a briefing from officials. He was presented with gifts including a glass paperweight inspired by the Selimiye Mosque's dome architecture and a limited-edition copy of Fuat Sezgin's "The Scientific Heritage of Islamic Civilization.”
A letter from Erdogan was also presented to the king, describing the visit as a significant gesture amid rising Islamophobia and racism.
Cambridge Mosque Trust Board member Zeynep Coskun Koc said the visit marked the first time a British monarch had officially visited a mosque in the U.K., noting that Queen Elizabeth II had visited a mosque in 2002 but no monarch had done so since.
She said King Charles was impressed by the mosque's architecture and environmentally friendly design, and that he expressed interest in visiting Türkiye.
Board member Selim Argun said the visit coincided with the 75th anniversary of Cambridge being granted city status, and that King Charles did not cancel the visit despite a busy schedule.
British researcher Abdulhakim Murad, who contributed to the mosque's opening, said the visit was symbolically significant for the U.K.'s Muslim community at a time of anxiety among communities, noting that the local bishop and rabbi also attended.
The Cambridge Central Mosque uses photovoltaic panels, air-source heat pumps, a sedum roof and sustainably sourced timber, and generates about 40% of its electricity from solar energy.
Rainwater is collected for irrigation and cleaning, while heat pumps warm the building's water and underfloor heating systems.
The mosque's design draws on the fan vaults of nearby King's College Chapel and the Victorian brickwork of Cambridge's Romsey district, and it can accommodate about 1,000 worshippers.
The mosque also runs food parcel deliveries for families facing financial hardship, hosts health awareness events and served as a local vaccination center during the COVID-19 pandemic. It maintains ties with the Cambridge Mosques Council and Cambridge Muslim College.
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