King Charles "will never forget" his visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau

He bit his lip and stood silently for over a minute, turning back twice to take in the moment.

And he wrote in the visitors' book: "Remembering what took place here, and those who were so cruelly murdered is a duty; a sacred duty that must be protected.

"Being here today, hearing the stories of those who experienced its horrors, seeing the shoes of children whose lives were taken when they'd just begun, and walking the paths upon which such cruelty was inflicted, is something that I will never forget."

The king was joined at the service by royal representatives and heads of state from more than 50 countries, including French president Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, German chancellor Olaf Scholtz and royals from Spain, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands.

During the service - which had a single train carriage used to transport people to the camp at the centre - Charles could be seen with his hands to his eyes as he heard the stories of the elderly survivors.

One told how she was just five years old and "hot, hungry, thirsty and very terrified" when she was loaded into a similar carriage.

She added: "I held on tightly to my mother's hand in the dark cattle car for countless hours while the cries and the prayers of so many desperate women permeated my soul and haunt me to this day."

Charles is the first British monarch to visit the site of the camp, and though he didn't speak during the service, he did light a candle in memory of those killed at Auschwitz-Birkenau and closed his eyes in prayer.

After the service, he walked under the 'Arbeit Macht Frei' gate and saw stacks of shoes and suitcases which had been taken from prisoners when theyarrived at the camp.

He said it was "just astonishing" as he looked at the smallest baby shoes there.