King Charles has paid tribute to Auschwitz survivor and the stepsister of Anne Frank, Eva Schloss, who has passed away at the age of 96.
Mrs Schloss died in London on January 3, 2026, as the King reflected on her life.
His Majesty wrote: "My wife and I are greatly saddened to hear of the death of Eva Schloss.
"The horrors that she endured as a young woman are impossible to comprehend, and yet she devoted the rest of her life to overcoming hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding and resilience through her tireless work for the Anne Frank Trust UK and for Holocaust education across the world.
The King has paid tribute to Eva Schloss | PATRENDING
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"We are both privileged and proud to have known her, and we admired her deeply. May her memory be a blessing to us all."
Mrs Schloss, who was then Eva Geiringer, was born on May 11, 1929, in Vienna, Austria.
After the country was annexed by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis in 1938, Jews were brought into immediate danger.
Eva came to live with her parents and brother at Merwedeplein square in Amsterdam in February 1940, where she met fellow teenager Anne Frank.
Eva Schloss has passed away at the age of 96
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In 1942, the family went into hiding for two years but were discovered through the betrayal of a Dutch nurse who worked with the Nazis.
On May 11, 1944, Eva's 15th birthday, she was deported to Auschwitz alongside her mother, surviving typhus and working sorting victims' belongings before liberation.
Her father and brother both perished at the extermination camp, but she was saved after the liberation of Auschwitz by the Soviet army on January 27, 1945.
Eva returned with her mother to the Netherlands, where they met Otto Frank, who later became her stepfather.
Eva Schloss survived the Auschwitz extermination camp after it was liberated by the Soviet Union
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With Mr Frank's camera, Eva left for London to study photography, where she met Zvi Schloss, whom she married in 1952.
For over 40 years, the Holocaust survivor remained silent about the traumatic experiences she endured in Auschwitz.
She said: "I talked about this for the first time in 1988, when the exhibition dedicated to Anne Frank came to London.
"I was far from politics, but I realised that the world had not learned any lessons from the events of 1939 to 1945, that wars continued, that persecution, racism, intolerance still existed.
Eva Schloss, the stepsister of Anne Frank, met Queen Camilla in 2022
| PA"And then I began to share my experience, to call for changes in the world."
Mrs Schloss then travelled the world sharing her life story and message, working in cooperation with the Anne Frank Trust UK in London.
She was awarded an MBE in the 2013 New Year's Honours by Queen Elizabeth II.
In June 2021, she received a medal for services to the Republic of Austria and reclaimed her citizenship.
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