King Charles III will now try to spread them among the Royal Family, unlike his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, who served as the patron of many worthy causes.
The monarch, who will lay in state from Wednesday until her funeral on Monday, served as the patron of 600 organisations, including the Royal Society and the British Red Cross.
The Royal Pigeon Racing Association and Bowls England, the nation’s regulatory body for flat-green outdoor bowling, were two less well-known but oddly British patronages.
In order to promote worthy causes, garner awareness, and raise money for essential projects, British royals support a total of 3,000 organisations.
About one-quarter of the royal family’s activities are patronage-related, including affiliations to charities, military groups, professional organisations, and public service organisations.
Since she appointed Kate, the wife of her grandson William, as the All England Lawn Tennis Club’s patron on her 90th birthday in 2016, the queen has been reducing her engagements.
‘Trusted hands’, “My life will of course change as I take up my new responsibilities,” Charles said in his first address as king last Friday, one day after his mother’s death.
“It will no longer be possible for me to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply. But I know this important work will go on in the trusted hands of others.”
