An important part of the work of The Queen and the Royal Family is to support and encourage public and voluntary service.

One of the ways in which they do this is through involvement with charities and other organisations. These range from well-known charities such as the British Red Cross to new, smaller charities like Kids Company, to regiments in the Armed Forces.

About 3,000 organisations list a member of the Royal Family as patron or president. The Queen has over 600 patronages and The Duke of Edinburgh over 700.

In this section you can learn more about how relationships with the Royal Family and specific charities are instigated and maintained, and you can search a database of current patronages by member of the Royal Family and/or type of charity or organisation.