More than 600 charities in the UK count Her Majesty the Queen as their Royal Patron. But just how valuable is royal patronage and the association with the Queen?

Last month a new research report, “A Feast of Thanks: the Patron’s Lunch and the Value of Patronage”, launched by The Patron’s Fund and undertaken by Cass CCE and BWB, looked closely at the benefits and impact of the Queen’s patronage on charities, marking the first time royal patronage has been measured and evaluated.

The report was published one year on since The Patron’s Lunch event on 12th June 2016, where 10,000 guests were invited to the Mall to celebrate The Queen’s lifetime of dedicated service to charitable good and volunteerism.

The 220 UK-based charities (all beneficiaries of the Queen’s patronage) who attended The Patron’s Lunch were surveyed by questionnaire and telephone interview and their qualitative and quantitative responses informed the report.

So just how valuable is Patronage?

The research found that the Queen’s charities consider her patronage to be ‘unique.’ Many see it as a ‘seal of approval, ‘a gold standard of trust, inspiration and recognition’. The organisations are immensely proud of their patronage and this pride resonates with a charities’ staff, volunteers and beneficiaries. The charities surveyed also said that The Queen’s role as a volunteer is inspirational and sets a standard for UK volunteering.

Another major benefit was that royal patronage can boost fundraising. One charity said, ‘with buckets being shaken everywhere, it’s harder and harder to make money. But anything that’s attached to The Queen creates a trust’.


The Scouts Association said The Queen’s own dedication to community service ‘inspires the next generation of 573,000 UK members to a lifetime of service and volunteering.’

Several interviewees spoke about the need to ‘be fit to be associated’ with The Queen –which is inspiring and driving them to achieve the highest standards of excellence.

“We act in a way that makes us less vulnerable to criticism,” said one charity. ABF The Soldiers’ Charity said ‘there is no one higher in the land’ and that her patronage influenced their standards and decision making daily. They noted, The Queen ‘keeps the standards high. She has a sharp eye for detail.’

Patronage is felt the strongest where The Queen’s personal interests or additional roles related directly to the objects of the charity. The Royal College of Church Music for example, think of The Queen not just in her role as Monarch, but as Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

The Patron’s Lunch was also considered as a big opportunity. The organisations that attended saw it as a chance to thank their Patron, invite and thank donors and volunteers, to fundraise and to make valuable connections with other organisations.

Sixty-nine per cent used The Patron’s Lunch to boost awareness of their work and produce content for their own communications while the same percentage viewed the event as a chance to power their social media content strategy.

Around half (52%) of charities that attended The Patron’s Lunch invited their donors, while 87% invited volunteers.

The research also highlighted recommendations for how charities can get the most out of their patronage in the future. One of the key messages was that charities need to be more proactive to build the patronage. This could involve better communication about events and providing regular news updates. Another recommendation was that charities should pass their annual reports to the royal patron to keep her informed.

To drive more active engagement, charities should select opportunities to provide relevant information, seek letters of support and even attendances and hosting opportunities.

It was also suggested that Buckingham Palace should consider what can be gained from convening the community of patron’s charities, whether virtually or in person as there are many benefits to be gained from collaboration

To conclude, the research highlighted the major difference having the Queen as Patron can make to charities and volunteer organisations in terms of helping them raise awareness of worthy causes and it can generate tremendous pride amongst employees and volunteers.

The research highlighted how this type of partnership can continue to flourish if steps are taken by charities to engage as fully as possible with their patron. We hope the report will act as a springboard for further discussion about how charities and social enterprises can benefit further from this rich and deep association with the world’s longest serving monarch.

Professor Paul Palmer is director of Cass CCE

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