King Charles has confirmed the patronages of himself and of his wife, Queen Camilla, ahead of the one-year anniversary of his coronation on Monday.
A major review of royal patronages, which numbers over 1,000, was undertaken following Charles' accession to the throne following the death of his mother, the late Queen, on 8 September 2022. Charles and Camilla will continue to serve as patrons for many of the organisations that they support, and the King has added a further 302 to his current patronages, while the Queen now is a patron of an additional 24.
At the time of her death, the late Queen was a patron or president of 492 organisations. Patronages that have not been taken up by the King and Queen will be distributed to other members of the royal family, including the Prince and Princess of Wales.
One of the organisations that the monarch is now the patron of is the Royal British Legion, the country's leading armed forces charity, which is due to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings later this year.
Speaking about having His Majesty as their patron, Mark Atkinson from the charity said: "The Royal British Legion is extremely proud that his majesty the King is our new patron. As the nation's largest military charity, this patronage honours the special relationship that exists between the monarch and the armed forces. His majesty's commitment to remembrance and lifelong support to the RBL's welfare work is greatly appreciated by our entire community."
Charles and Camilla will now also serve as patrons for the Jockey Club, while Charles will continue as a patron for suicide helpline the Samaritans and Camilla will become the president of the Sandringham branch of the Women's Institute.
The review examined the patronages held by senior members of the royal family, and 74 of the organisations represented by the King will no longer have him or a senior royal at their helm.
Further announcements about other patronages held by members of the royal family are expected to be shared in the coming weeks.
The news was shared shortly after the King made a surprise appearance at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, an event which held a special place in his late mother's heart.
In a series of touching photos from the event, Charles could be seen with niece Zara Tindall, with the mum-of-three spotted hugging her uncle and laughing with him.