Following a royal tradition spanning more than eight decades, the Friends of Winchester Cathedral have been honoured with the patronage of His Majesty the King. The first Royal Patron of the Friends was HRH The Duke of Connaught, Queen Victoria’s third son. Following his death, King George VI became Royal Patron in 1942 and then Queen Elizabeth accepted the patronage on her accession to the throne in 1953.
A letter to The Friends from Buckingham Palace at the weekend said “Following the thorough analysis of over one thousand organisations … His Majesty would be delighted to accept the Patronage of The Friends of Winchester Cathedral.”
“Royal patronage highlights the vital work of these organisations and allows their many achievements and valuable contributions to society to be more widely recognised and promoted”, Buckingham Palace said in its announcement.
The Chairman of The Friends, Bruce Parker, said: “This is such an honour for us and the cathedral as a whole. We know Their Majesties have had to slim down their commitments and so we feel particularly privileged to have been chosen. Let’s hope we can soon welcome our new Royal Patron to Winchester ”
In 2016, Queen Elizabeth, as royal patron, gave her blessing to The Friends for the composition of a piece of music in honour of her 90th birthday which was named “Queen Elizabeth’s Winchester Carol”. Before the première of the piece at a cathedral Christmas concert, The Queen had asked for a recording of it to be sent to her and gave it her warm approval.
Winchester has been associated with royal activity and patronage for centuries past with important events such as coronations, weddings and baptisms all taking place in the cathedral.
Image of King Charles III at top of page, credit: Hugo Burnand