The Duke of Gloucester carries out a significant number of public duties and each year undertakes hundreds of official engagements in the UK and overseas.
The Duke is associated with over 150 charities and organisations. His patronages reflect his professional and personal interests and can be grouped under the following themes:
1. International humanitarian issues; these can be sub-divided into (a) international development and (b) disaster prevention and relief
2. Health issues
3. Social welfare, community and youth development
4. Environmental issues and climate change
5. Social sciences and technology
6. Culture and the arts
7. Heritage and the built environment
8. Military veterans and the disabled community
9. Armed forces
View footage of The Duke of Gloucester visiting The Wheels Project in Bristol:
Some of The Duke's public duties relate to architecture and conservation, in which he is still keenly interested. He was elected a corporate member of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1972 and he is President of the Society of the Architect-Artists.
His fellowships include those of the Institute of Clerks of Works for Great Britain Incorporated, the Institution of Structural Engineers, the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, and the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland.
The Duke is also President of several architectural preservation societies, including the Pevsner Memorial Trust and the Victorian Society. He is Patron of the International Council on Monuments and Sites, UK National Committee.
The Duke has also produced three books of architectural photographs: On Public View (1970) which illustrated London statues, The Face of London (1973) and Oxford and Cambridge (1980).
The Duke of Gloucester's charities also include the following (as Patron):
ASH (Action on Smoking and Health), British Association of Friends of Museums, British-Mexican Society, Construction Youth Trust, Council for Education in World Citizenship, Fenland Archaeological Trust, Friends of Gloucester and Peterborough Cathedrals, Society of Engineers, Pestalozzi Children's Village Trust, British Homeopathic Association, Japan Society, League of Friends of Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, The London Chorus, Magdalene Australia Society, Normandy Veterans Association, New Islington and Hackney Housing Association, North East Civic Trust, Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust, Oriental Ceramic Society, Richard III Society, Royal Anthropological Institute, Society of Antiquaries of London, Society of Architect Artists, Severn Valley Railway and the Tramway Museum.
He is President of a number of organisations including:
Britain-Nepal Society, the British Expertise (formerly the British Consultancy and Construction Bureau), British Leprosy Relief Association (LEPRA - Vice President), Cancer Research UK, Christ's Hospital, The London Society, The National Association of Clubs for Young People (NACYP), The Public Monuments and Sculpture Association, Royal Smithfield Club and St Bartholomew's Hospital.
Following his father, he is Grand Prior of the Order of St John.
The Duke of Gloucester has travelled extensively overseas in support of the organisations with which he is linked. For example, as President of British Expertise, the Duke has travelled to the Ivory Coast, Senegal, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, the Middle East, Algeria, Tunisia, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Portugal, Poland, Spain, the United States, Hungary, the former Czechoslovakia, Ukraine, Singapore, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Yemen, Egypt, Pakistan, Japan, Mozambique, Angola and South Africa.
In addition to supporting these organisations, The Duke of Gloucester carries out many ceremonial and official duties.
He acted as Counsellor of State for the first time in 1966 on the occasion of The Queen's Caribbean tour, and he is The Queen's Trustee of the British Museum.
The Duke first represented The Queen overseas in 1970, at the wedding of Crown Prince Birendra of Nepal. His Royal Highness subsequently attended the independence celebrations of the Seychelles, the Solomon Islands, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Vanuatu.
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester also represented The Queen at the funeral of the late King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV of Tonga in September 2006.
His Royal Highness also holds honorary military appointments with the Royal Anglian Regiment, the 6th Battalion the Rifles, the Royal Logistic Corps, the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia), Royal Air Force Odiham and the Royal Army Medical Corps.
A full list of The Duke of Gloucester's patronages are listed in the Charities and Patronages section.
