Darasing Khurana was named the Commonwealth Year of Youth champion by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC. As part of his reign, Darasing was invited to London to attend the Commonwealth lunch, which was attended by Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom.
Darasing Khurana meets the royal family in the UK
The actor attended the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey, followed by an exclusive luncheon where he met various members of the royal family, including Prince Williams and Prince Edward. Prince Edward, like Darasing, is the only other person in the world to have the title of Commonwealth Year of Youth Champion.
As the two of them met, the Indian representative highlighted their common vision for their roles under their titles. They also discussed how to look at the Commonwealth and its growth for young people.
Darasing Khurana explains meaning behind namaste to The Queen
What stood out the most to Darasing was his interaction with the Queen. “It was pleasant to witness a person of her status be so humble. During our talk, I tried to explain to her a bit about our Indian culture, including the meaning of our ‘Namaste’. And she listened to it all with such enthusiasm and wonder, drinking it all in and then complimenting the depth of it,” he said.
The actor also shared his vision for youth development in the Commonwealth, his advocacy for mental health, the causes of juvenile mental health decline, and methods to address it. “The Queen understood when I described to her how overexposure to technology had affected today’s youth and agreed that we needed to put a plan in place to address it. She acknowledged my cause and encouraged me to begin my work in that direction with the royal family’s full moral backing,” he said.
Darasing agrees that knowledge of the Commonwealth’s activity is quite limited in India. “When we mention the Commonwealth Games, most people assume we’re talking about the four-year event. However, the Commonwealth’s effort extends well beyond that. It is an organization made up of 56 countries that work in a variety of fields such as education, the environment, trade, youth development, and many more. I hope that my involvement raises awareness of the situation in our country,” he concluded.
