The Queen And Prince Philip Honor Prince William With Two New Patronages
The monarch and her husband have been patrons of the organizations for decades. So it feels like Prince William is given a huge honor as well as a huge responsibility. Prince William has just been given two patronages by his grandmother the Queen and Prince Philip, becoming the patron of two organizations that are close to the two elder royal’s hearts.
Buckingham Palace confirmed that Prince William is now officially at the helm of Fauna & Flora International (FFI) and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO).
With this choice, the Queen and Prince Philip acknowledged the effort that Prince William has been putting in conservation, especially with his latest project, the Earth shot Prize.
The palace said in a statement: “Today The Duke of Cambridge has become Patron of two wildlife conservation charities, handed to His Royal Highness by The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh.
“The new patronages, Fauna & Flora International (FFI) and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), align with The Duke of Cambridge’s longstanding work around conservation and support for communities protecting their natural environment for future generations.”
The two royals have grown attached to the organizations over the decades of working together.
The Queen became patron of the FFI, which is the world’s oldest international wildlife conservation charity, over seven decades ago.
The organization, which works in 40 countries, has the goal of protecting threatened species and ecosystems, finding solutions to problems that are more sustainable, based on sound science and that enhances human wellbeing.
Mark Rose, current CEO of the FFI, talked about how much the Queen has helped the organization throughout the years. He said: “Her Majesty has provided stalwart support to FFI and we are extremely grateful for the sterling support and encouragement that she has provided throughout the past seven decades.”
He also showed his excitement at the news that Prince William will be one to continue his grandmother’s work, adding: “We look forward to building on her legacy and taking the relationship forward with her grandson.
“The Duke of Cambridge is a wonderful ambassador for conservation and there is a great deal of synergy between his own and FFI’s vision for the future of the planet.”
The other organization, the British Trust for Ornithology, has had the Duke of Edinburgh as patron for three decades. The charity empowers communities to protect local bird species and their natural habitat.
Dr. Andy Clements, CEO of the BTO, welcomed Prince William as the Duke’s successor.
He said: “I am delighted that the Duke of Cambridge has become our patron, following on from his grandfather who worked so tirelessly on our behalf.
“We hope that we will be able to support The Duke’s strong interest in protecting the environment through our evidence-based work around environmental issues in the UK.”
Even before this, Prince William already was a patron of several charities focused on conservation and the environment in the last decade. Back in 2005 he became patron of the Tusk Trust, and has been working closely with them ever since.
Another organization that Prince William supports is WildAid, being its ambassador, as well as one of the more outspoken advocates for issues surrounding the protection of the environment and climate change over the past months.
Earlier this month, Prince William revealed one of his most ambitious projects to date-the Earthshot Prize.
While addressing the public, the Duke explained how he wanted to bring back some “positivity” in the climate debate. The project is quite ambitious, planning to last for a decade, in which we will see a panel of judges award five prizes every year to individuals, cities, government or whoever will be able to present solutions to the environmental problems Earth is facing.
Upon launching this initiative, the Duke said: “The Earthshot prize is really about harnessing that optimism and that urgency to find some of the world’s solutions to some of the greatest environmental problems.”
Also in his speech Prince William talked about the conservation work that Prince Philip and Prince Charles have also been doing and how that inspired him to keep fighting.