The Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) is deeply honoured to announce His Majesty The King, Head of the Commonwealth, as
Patron of the Society.
The RCS looks forward to working with His Majesty to promote the value and values of the Commonwealth.
As the oldest civil society organisation dedicated to the Commonwealth, the Society is privileged to deliver the annual
highlights in the Commonwealth calendar, including the Commonwealth Day Service of Celebration at Westminster Abbey on
Commonwealth Day, and the High Commissioners’ Banquet at Guildhall. His Majesty has long supported these events.
Last year, the Society was honoured to welcome His Majesty The King to his first major public event as Head of the
Commonwealth at the Commonwealth Day Service of Celebration. At that Service, His Majesty delivered his first
Commonwealth Day Message, in which he said:
“In succeeding Her Majesty as Head of the Commonwealth, I draw great strength from her example, together with all that I
have learnt from the extraordinary people I have met, throughout the Commonwealth, over so many years.
The Commonwealth has been a constant in my own life, and yet its diversity continues to amaze and inspire me. Its
near-boundless potential as a force for good in the world demands our highest ambition; its sheer scale challenges us to
unite and be bold.”
For over fifty years, His Majesty has used his unique position to champion action for a sustainable future. This has
included promoting solutions to shared global challenges, including the climate crisis, deforestation, and ocean
pollution. As HRH The Prince of Wales, the Society was honoured to work with His Majesty to highlight the importance of
conserving our natural environments for future generations. Through the support of initiatives, including The Queen’s
Commonwealth Canopy (QCC), the first environmental initiative in The late Queen’s name and the first to achieve
pan-Commonwealth commitment, His Majesty has shown how the Commonwealth can act as a force for good in protecting our
natural environment.
Dr Linda Yueh CBE, Executive Chair of the Royal Commonwealth Society, commented:
“We are deeply honoured to have His Majesty The King as Patron. With his long record of support for the Commonwealth and
as a champion of the environment, he embodies the values to which the Royal Commonwealth Society aspires, and which
inspires our work to make a practical difference in the lives of the 2.6 billion people who make up the Commonwealth
family.”
The Royal Commonwealth Society was privileged to have had The late Queen Elizabeth II as Patron for 70 years; since
1952, when she became Head of the Commonwealth. Since 2018, the RCS was honoured to have as inaugural Vice-Patron, Her
Majesty The Queen when she was HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. With Queen Camilla’s support, The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay
Competition has flourished, reaching thousands of young people and volunteers across all regions of the Commonwealth.