News
Renewed hope for rare Roseate Terns
The UK’s only breeding colony sees more chicks than ever before after being devastated by disease.
Award-winning nature writer Dominic Couzens shares an exclusive extract from ‘RSPB Birding Year’.
The RSPB honoured to have His Majesty, The King as new Royal patron
A consistent, active and inspiring champion for action on nature and climate, we are very honoured that His Majesty, The King will continue the legacy of the late Queen in her support for the RSPB.
Posted 5 min read
His Majesty, The King has announced his patronage of the RSPB following a review of Royal patronages conducted by the Royal Household after His Majesty’s accession to the throne. The King succeeds Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as the organisation’s Royal patron.
The RSPB’s chief executive, Beccy Speight said, “His Majesty, The King has long been an advocate for conservation and the need to protect and restore our natural world both here at home and across the globe. So, we are immensely honoured that His Majesty has chosen the RSPB to be among his Royal patronages. We are looking forward to the support of His Majesty in promoting the need to protect and restore both our wildlife and wild spaces.”
King Charles III’s patronage comes at a critical time for nature. Last year, the UK State of Nature report showed that our wildlife is in freefall, with species studied having declined on average by 19% since the early 1970s and with 26% of land mammals at risk of being lost entirely.
In 2008, the King, then The Prince of Wales, visited Indonesia as part of a trip arranged by the RSPB to meet people from indigenous communities and understand the issues faced by them alongside the pressures on wildlife living in one of the world’s most threatened and important rainforests.
During his trip, King Charles, who was accompanied by the RSPB’s Chief Executive at the time, Sir Graham Wynne, met with local school children, government officials, conservation staff and even got involved in tree planting.
The RSPB’s chair of council, Kevin Cox said:
His Majesty has been a consistent, active and inspiring champion for action to address climate change and care for our natural world over many decades. We are very honoured that the King will continue the legacy of the late Queen in her support for the RSPB.”
