The Hajioannou family were among the guests at Buckingham Palace on May 14, attending King Charles’ garden party marking the 50th anniversary of The King’s Trust, in a rare family appearance that brought Sir Stelios, Klelia and Polys Hajiioannou back to the palace four decades after their first visit. 

The event celebrated five decades of The King’s Trust, the youth charity founded by King Charles in 1976, when he was Prince of Wales, to support young people with employment, education, training and enterprise opportunities. 

According to Greek media reports, the wider Hajioannou family attended the charity event, with Sir Stelios, Klelia and Polys Hajioannou passing through the palace gates for the King’s anniversary gathering. 

Klelia Hajioannou, who has spent part of her life in London, said the occasion was filled with emotion and symbolism. 

“Exactly 40 years ago I first walked through these gates with my father,” she said. 

Klelia mentioned that “Today, life has brought us back here to Buckingham Palace, with my husband Konstantinos, my brother Poly, Rosemary, my brother Stelios, Orla and the new generation by our side.” 

She added that some moments are “more than an invitation”, describing the visit as a reminder of “values, family, continuity and gratitude”. 

“It was a great honour and a thrill to attend the King’s Trust’s 50th Anniversary Garden Party at Buckingham Palace,” she said, calling it “a truly special moment” that would remain in the family’s hearts. 

The garden party was part of a wider week of anniversary events for The King’s Trust, bringing together young people, supporters, volunteers, beneficiaries and public figures to mark the charity’s work since 1976. 

The celebration placed young people at the centre of the event, with the charity saying the planning had begun the previous year, when young creatives were invited to imagine what a “youth takeover” at Buckingham Palace could look like. 

Those ideas were then brought into the garden party itself, with young people contributing their skills and talents to the anniversary celebration. 

The family’s presence also carried a strong philanthropic dimension through Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder of easyJet and the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation. 

The foundation is a long-time supporter and Platinum Patron of The King’s Trust, and in 2024 committed £1 million to the charity to support young entrepreneurs across the UK through the Sir Stelios Philanthropic Foundation Fund for Enterprise. 

The donation marked the launch of a fund aimed at helping young people test, sustain and grow their business ideas, connecting Sir Stelios’ philanthropic work directly with the charity’s long-standing focus on enterprise and youth opportunity. 

The fund supports young entrepreneurs through The King’s Trust’s enterprise work, which offers practical help for those seeking to plan, launch and grow a business, including workshops, mentoring, grants and access to loans. 

Sir Stelios said at the time that he was “very excited to launch this new Foundation Fund with The Prince’s Trust”, adding that the partnership would “support and nurture young entrepreneurs across the UK”. 

The Buckingham Palace appearance therefore came against the backdrop of the foundation’s major financial support for The King’s Trust, rather than as a one-off ceremonial attendance. 

Sir Stelios, who founded easyJet in the 1990s and built the wider easy family of brands, has increasingly used his foundation to support education, entrepreneurship, food poverty, healthcare and community initiatives in the UK, Greece, Cyprus, Monaco and elsewhere. 

According to the foundation, its mission is to support a diverse range of charitable activities in places closely linked to Sir Stelios’ life and work, including the UK, Ireland, Greece, Cyprus, France and Monaco. 

The foundation’s Cyprus presence also reflects his close ties to the island, where both his parents were born and where the family name remains closely linked to shipping, business and philanthropy. 

The Buckingham Palace appearance came two days after Sir Stelios hosted a charity reception at the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation’s London headquarters, bringing together organisations supported by the foundation over the past two decades, including The King’s Trust. 

The reception also underlined the foundation’s wider charitable activity in the UK, with Sir Stelios using the event to bring together a number of organisations that have benefited from its support over the years. 

Polys Hajiioannou, meanwhile, remains one of the most prominent Cypriot figures in international shipping. He is the chairman and chief executive of Safe Bulkers, a dry bulk shipping company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and has led the company since its listing in 2008. 

He is also closely associated with the family’s wider shipping legacy, built by their father, Loucas Hadjiioannou, one of Cyprus’ best-known shipowners. 

Beyond Safe Bulkers, Polys has also been linked to the family’s continuing stake in easyJet, emphasising the Hajioannou family’s long-standing position at the intersection of shipping, aviation, entrepreneurship and investment. 

The Buckingham Palace garden party formed part of a wider week of celebrations for The King’s Trust, with King Charles marking the charity’s 50th anniversary alongside young people, supporters, volunteers, beneficiaries and public figures. 

According to media, the anniversary events also included appearances by figures such as Idris Elba and Dame Helen Mirren, reflecting the charity’s long-standing links with the arts, enterprise and youth opportunity.