King Charles paid a personal tribute to an Auschwitz survivor as she celebrated her 100th birthday on Friday.
Lily Ebert, who lives in London, was liberated by American soldiers in April 1945 when she was 20, and has since spent her life educating younger generations about the horrors of the Holocaust, for which she was awarded an MBE in January.
In a letter to her to mark the milestone, King Charles praised her "extraordinary strength of spirit, resilience, and courage".
He said: “The terrible suffering which you and your family endured can never be adequately described.”
Wishing her a happy birthday, the monarch also sent her flowers.
Also among those congratulating Lily was former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Countdown host Rachel Riley.
Today my great grandmother, Lily Ebert, an Auschwitz survivor, turns 100!
— Dov Forman (@DovForman) December 29, 2023
“I never thought I would survive Auschwitz. Now I celebrate 100 surrounded by my large and loving family. The Nazis did not win!”
All #HappyBirthdayLily wishes will be passed on.❤️ pic.twitter.com/tI8UYrpmUI
Ms Ebert's story became known worldwide after her grandson, Dov Foreman, used social media to track down the family of an American GI who had given her a banknote after liberation, on which he had written: “Good luck and happiness”.
He said: “Thank you to the tens of thousands of people, on all platforms, who have sent Lily birthday cards, emails, wishes and videos.
“It is very hard to show you how much it really means to her, and the whole family.”
In July 1944, the Nazis deported then 14-year-old Ms Ebert from her home town of Bonyhad in Hungary with her mother, brother and three sisters to Auschwitz.
On arrival, her mother Nina, brother Bela and sister Berta were sent to the gas chamber by the ‘Angel of Death’ Dr Mengele, and she never saw them again.
After about four months in Auschwitz, the sisters were sent to an ammunition factory in Leipzig, and after the city was liberated by the Allies, Ms Ebert eventually came to London with her husband and children.
Her story is told in a book co-written by her and Dov called ‘Lily’s Promise’, to which King Charles as the-then Prince of Wales wrote the foreword.
