Holding 600 patronages at the time of her 90th birthday, from honorary military roles to those for small and large organisations alike, Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II supported a variety of charities throughout her reign.
Associated with many organisations carrying ‘Royal’ within their name, such as the Royal Academy of Arts, Queen Elizabeth II also championed the medical profession, as patron of the Cardiff, Manchester and Edinburgh Royal Infirmaries, and the Royal College of Nursing. As Patron of King’s College London and Queen’s College London, she also highlighted the importance of education. From the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) to the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS), service to those in greatest need featured strongly in her list of patronages, and Her Majesty even won her own RLSS Life Saving Medal as a teenager.
Many of Queen Elizabeth II’s residences were amongst farming estates and wild landscapes, and many of her patronages related to her passion for and keen understanding of rural life. She promoted the conservation of several rare and unusual farm animal breeds, and was patron of the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers and of the Royal Forestry Society.
Her Majesty’s favourite residences undoubtedly influenced her patronages, as several held links to her residences in Norfolk, Berkshire and Royal Deeside. She was patron of the Ballater Royal Horticultural Society near Balmoral, which holds an annual flower show, as does the Royal Windsor Rose and Horticultural Society. Reflecting her love of Sandringham, Queen Elizabeth II was Royal Honorary Air Commodore at nearby RAF Marham, and supported the Sandringham Cricket Club and Norfolk Wildlife Trust. Her trusted staff were not forgotten either, and she was patron of many clubs and associations for current and retired personnel, including the Association of Royal Yachtsmen, which is for personnel who served on the Royal Yacht Britannia.
Other charities and organisations reflected Her Majesty’s own interests. Her love of Highland life is well documented, with many a smiling image snapped at The Braemar Royal Highland Society’s (of which she was patron) annual Braemar Gathering. Known to begin weekdays with the tones of the bagpipes, she was patron of both the Royal Scottish Pipers’ Society and the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, and enjoyed country dancing at Balmoral. Her patronages of the Highland Pony Societies, Sport Horse Breeding of Great Britain, the British Horse Society and the Shire Horse Society, the Labrador Retriever Club, and both the Dog’s Trust and Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals also mirrored Queen Elizabeth II’s renowned love of dogs and horses.
As The Royal Mint, we are proud of the service we provided to Her Majesty throughout her reign. Her husband Prince Philip was Chairman of The Royal Mint Advisory Committee for many years, whilst Queen Elizabeth II was Patron of The Royal Numismatic Society, which promotes the study of coins, medals and related currency items. Her Majesty was also patron of the Royal Society of Sculptors, which exists to help sculptors in their careers and shape the narrative about sculpture as an art form. Fellow of said society Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS was the designer behind Queen Elizabeth II’s fourth definitive coinage portrait, which appeared from 1998 to 2015. He also created the memorial coin design for The Duke of Edinburgh in 2021.
Earlier this year, we celebrated Her Majesty’s lifelong commitment to charitable work with the second coin in our Queen’s Reign Collection. The artist and illustrator Patrick James (P. J.) Lynch created the coin’s reverse design, which represents Queen Elizabeth II’s service to others, and theirs to the wider community, whilst Maundy coins symbolise the very personal approach Her Majesty had towards charity.