Today marks the formal launch of the Queen Elizabeth Trust, a new independent charity that will focus on regenerating shared spaces that bring people together, especially across generations, as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s lasting legacy.
The charity has been announced to coincide with what would have been the late Queen’s 100th birthday, to honour her lifelong commitment to public service.
We’re proud that our Chief Executive, Helen Griffiths, has been working with the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee over the past two years to help shape this new charity and ensure it creates lasting impact that will be felt by UK communities for generations.
The Trust is one of three related memorial projects – alongside a national memorial in St James’ Park and a digital memorial – to honour the late Queen’s legacy at local, national, and global levels.
Inspired by Her late Majesty’s stated belief that “everyone is our neighbour”, the Trust will work hand in hand with communities, providing funding and targeted support to restore and sustain shared spaces at the heart of local life. It has been given a one-off £40 million endowment by the Government which provides the initial funding needed to support local projects of public value and will act as a catalyst for future fundraising.
The Queen Elizabeth Trust will ensure the late Queen is remembered for her unique ability to bring people together across generations and from all walks of life. His Majesty The King has accepted the Royal Patronage of the charity.
We’re delighted that the King George V Playing Fields programme was a key inspiration to the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee in creating the new charity. The Queen Elizabeth Trust continues a long-standing tradition of honouring the monarch through living memorials that make a real difference in people’s lives.
The King George V Playing Fields were established nearly a century ago in tribute to King George V to ensure that communities across the country always had places to play. Fields in Trust acted as the administrator of the programme and over 400 of those spaces still exist today.
Creating a legacy of green space for future generations remains core to our mission and we now legally protect over 3,000 parks, playgrounds, playing fields and green spaces across the UK.
The Cabinet Office recently shared a video of the Chair of the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee, Lord Robin Janvrin, discussing the importance of legacy in one of our protected parks, Mile End Park.
Mile End Park in East London began its life as a King George V Playing Field in the 1950s on land that had been heavily bombed during World War II. The park has expanded over the decades and is now home to sports courts, playgrounds, a BMX track and an Urban Adventure Base where local children and young people can come together to take part in activities like canoeing and climbing free of charge.
Mile End Park is just one of hundreds of examples of playing fields that were created in King George V’s memory that will serve their local communities forever.
You can watch the video of Lord Janvrin on our Instagram and LinkedIn channels.
We’re honoured that the late Queen was an active supporter of our work throughout her life, becoming our Patron in 1952 upon her accession to the throne and maintaining the position for an incredible 70 years. She followed in the footsteps of her grandfather, King George V, who was our first Patron, and her father, King George VI, who served as our first President when we were founded in 1925 as the National Playing Fields Association.
The late Queen’s husband, The Duke of Edinburgh, also played a very active role in our work and served as our President for an incredible 64 years.
In 2010, we launched the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge which aimed to protect green spaces in celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, coinciding with the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
This groundbreaking initiative led to the protection of 1,389 parks and green spaces across the UK between 2011 and 2016, covering over 8,000 hectares and benefitting more than 4.5 million people. This huge number of protections will continue to benefit millions of people for generations to come in tribute to Her late Majesty, providing a lasting legacy of the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations.
“It has been a true privilege to work with the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee to ensure the Queen Elizabeth Trust creates long-lasting impact and provides a fitting legacy to the late Queen, just as the King George V Fields have done for her grandfather.Helen Griffiths, Chief Executive of Fields in Trust
“Shared spaces such as parks create enormous benefits to communities across generations, providing accessible space for people to come together, socialise, and be active, so I’m delighted that this new charity will focus on regenerating the spaces that matter most to communities up and down the country.
“I look forward to continuing working with the Queen Elizabeth Trust as the charity develops and its future plans and projects begin to take shape.”
“I hope this new charity will encourage people to remember the life and service of the late Queen by recognising the importance she attached to strengthening that sense of engagement and belonging amongst local communities.”Lord Robin Janvrin, Chair of the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee