Prince William issues personal statement expressing sorrow after sad death

Prince William has issued a personal statement to express his sorrow after the news of a sad death.

Yesterday, it was revealed that Windrush pioneer, Alford Gardner, who once told how he “didn’t expect to be part of history” has died aged 98. Alford was presented with a Mirror Pride of Britain award last year by William when they met alongside his whole family and legends of the cricket world at Headingley Cricket Ground. And taking to X today to pay tribute, William said: “I was so sorry to hear of the passing of Alford Gardner, one of the last surviving passengers of the Empire Windrush.

“I was delighted to spend some time with him last summer and hear his story. As a leading figure in the Caribbean community in West Yorkshire, he changed the lives of so many with his courage and positivity. He leaves behind a legacy for us all to be proud of and will be remembered for his warmth, his courage, and of course his unwavering love of cricket! W”

Jamaican-born Alford was from a generation of Caribbean workers, who helped rebuild post-war Britain. They were invited to the UK to work in sectors such as the NHS and on transport networks and between 1948 and 1971, more than 500,000 men and women created a new life here.

Last year Alford, who was only one of two surviving passengers on the original Windrush voyage in 1948, received a Pride of Britain award on their behalf. The Windrush legend, who set up Britain’s first Caribbean cricket club after arriving in the UK, was left stunned when Prince William turned up on his doorstep to announce the news.

The Prince of Wales then took him to Headingley cricket ground for a surprise involving four generations of his family alongside some of the world’s biggest cricketing legends of the last 50 years. William told him: “I think hopefully you’ve seen how much you mean to everyone round here. They’ve all come out to say thank you.

“And I want to say thank you as well to you and all the Windrush generation who started so many things off when you first arrived all those years ago.” It had been an amazing year for Alford, who’d also met William’s father King Charles, after the RAF veteran became one of ten Windrush survivors whose portraits have been painted for the Royal Collection.

The great great grandfather met the King at a royal reception before they went on display. “Imagine me, a little country boy, in Buckingham Palace! Me in it?” he said after the event. Alford was born in 1926 growing up with nine siblings in Montego Bay and Springfield, Jamaica.