Charles III Ascends to the Throne - He maintains his support for the Film Institute.
King Charles III, aged 75, maintains his position as patron of the British Film Institute (BFI). The institute revealed this news on June 11, marking the 25th anniversary of the inauguration of the London BFI Imax. Charles played a role in this event too, as he cut the ribbon on June 11, 1999.
Patronage for Nearly Half a Century
CEO of BFI, Ben Roberts, expressed his gratitude to King Charles III, "We're thrilled to have King Charles III as our patron for the next 45 years. He's been a great supporter of our cause, and his dedication to film is unmistakable." Roberts also mentioned the BFI's serious approach to safeguarding the Royal Collection in the BFI National Archive, ensuring its preservation for future generations.
Founded in 1933, BFI is a registered charity regulated by a Royal Charter since 1983. Previously, in 2018, Charles visited the BFI Southbank to commemorate 40 years of him being the BFI's patron. There he mingled with BFI employees like Roberts, graduates of the BFI Film Academy, and distinguished British film personalities such as actress Ruth Wilson (42) and actor Tom Hiddleston (43).
Preserving the Royal Collection of Film
A notable task of the BFI is the upkeep of the Royal Collection of Film. This collection commenced in 1931 and encompasses over a thousand individual film reels, carefully protected by the BFI National Archive. Recently, the Royal Collection's contents were included in the BBC documentary films "Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen" and "Charles R: The Making of a Monarch." A film preservation team from the BFI surveyed and scrutinized original film reels alongside restoration experts to promote project development and plan for the digital restoration process. This included personal home movies filmed by George VI (1895-1952), Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022), and other members of the royal household. All new 4K digital files produced for these productions were saved in the BFI's Digital Preservation Archives for future generations.
Prince William (41), son of Charles, is also involved in the film industry: he's now the President of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and has participated in several BAFTA Film Awards.
Royal patronages under review
A restructuring of royal patronages was announced in early May by Buckingham Palace. The review will update the monarchs' and the royal family's support of more than a thousand organizations from September 2022. Around 800 organizations are to receive ongoing support. Due to fewer active members in the royal family, the reductions were made. The palace reported, "At the time of the demise of your late Majesty, the Queen was patron of 492 organizations. 376 will be continued by your Majesties or other members of the Royal Family." Concerning the Prince of Wales, he had 441 patronages; 367 were retained or shared with other members of the royal family. A review was also conducted regarding 100 organizations connected to the Queen and the Duchess of Cornwall, with 91 patronages being retained or passed on to other members of the royal family. According to "Sky News," the total number of patronages for the king increased from 441 to 669, while the count for Camilla (76) rose from 100 to 115, as she accepted 15 additional patronages.
