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Her Majesty The Queen is announced as our new Royal Patron

To mark the first anniversary of Their Majesties’ Coronation, it has been announced Her Majesty The Queen will take on patronage of the Royal Literary Fund from the late Queen Elizabeth II, who was Patron of 492 organisations at the time of her death. Only 376 organisations will be retained by Their Majesties or other members of the Royal Family.

Our Chief Executive Edward Kemp was informed about the appointment this week and said,

The RLF is delighted that Her Majesty will be our new Royal Patron. With her well-known love for literature and passion for literacy, we very much look forward to engaging her in our vital work helping writers and readers.

The Queen’s shared her love of literature by starting a book club during the COVID-19 pandemic that has now evolved into The Queen’s Reading Room which launched earlier this year. The charity aims to celebrate and promote the power and benefits of reading with a mission to help more people find and connect with books which enrich their lives.

Her Majesty’s charity work is varied and covers many organisations within health, literacy, the elderly, victims of rape and sexual abuse and domestic violence, empowering women; food; animals, dance and heritage and the arts. Her other literary patronages include the National Literacy Trust and the Royal Society of Literature.

In 1806, the Prince Regent became the first Patron of the Literary Fund who presented the charity with a house at 36 Gerard Street in London’s Soho, along with two hundred guineas a year for rent and maintenance of the premises. But it wasn’t until 1842 that the Fund was allowed to add ‘Royal’ to its title after receiving several years of royal patronage from Prince Albert, the Prince Consort and Queen Victoria joining him as joint Patron.

Photo Credit: Her Majesty The Queen by Chris Jackson | Getty Images

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