Prince Charles Edits 'The Voice' – Britain's Only Black Newspaper – for 40th Anniversary Issue

Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Prince Charles

Prince Charles is celebrating the Black community in Britain.

The Prince of Wales, 73, has taken on a special role – editing the only national newspaper that serves the African-Caribbean community in the U.K. The Voice debuted in 1982, and asked the royal to guest edit its upcoming 40th anniversary issue.

"Over the last four decades, with all the enormous changes that they have witnessed, Britain's only surviving black newspaper has become an institution and a crucial part of the fabric of our society," Charles said in a statement. "This is why I was so touched to be invited to edit this special edition," he added, praising the paper's legacy and impact.

The edition will highlight achievements across the Black community through the last four decades, pointing to the prince's work with community leaders and charitable support.

Focusing on themes of "community cohesion, education, climate, the Commonwealth, faith and the arts," interviews include conversations with Idris Elba, Bernardine Evaristo, Baroness Floella Benjamin, Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Wanjira Matha.

Chris Jackson/Getty

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Elba is set to address how a Prince's Trust grant "opened doors that changed my life" at age 16, while Evaristo, a Booker Prize-winning author, will reflect on her involvement in the literary initiative run by Charles's wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

In another feature, Benjamin, a former television presenter, opens up about her work with the Windrush Portraits project, which Prince Charles launched to mark the "immeasurable contribution" of the Windrush generation to life int he U.K. Ten people are being painted, and the portraits will be unveiled next June.

Earlier this summer, Benjamin stepped out with Prince William and Kate Middleton at the unveiling of the National Windrush Monument at Waterloo Station.

John Sibley - WPA Pool/Getty Images Kate Middleton and Prince William at the unveiling of the Windrush memorial

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Baroness Doreen Lawrence – the mother of the late Stephen Lawrence, who was murdered in a racially-motivated attack in London at age 18 – will discuss a new artistic scholarship fund for students from diverse backgrounds. The baroness will touch on the ongoing partnership between The Prince's Foundation and The Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation, established in memory of her son, who dreamed of becoming an architect.

Mathai, meanwhile, will talk about the life and legacy of her late mother Wangari Maathai (the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize), climate justice and making change today.

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Commenting on the special issue, The Voice's editor Lester Holloway said, "Our readers may be surprised at the parallels between the issues which The Voice has campaigned on for four decades and the work the Prince of Wales has been involved in over the same period, often behind the scenes. In past decades these causes were once scorned and ridiculed, but today they are widely acknowledged."

"Yet all the research tells us how far we have to go to be a truly equal society," he continued "The Prince has an awareness of this, and that in itself is a reason to be hopeful."

The Voice is published monthly in London, and its 40th anniversary edition hits newsstands Sept. 1.