Pictured: The Prince and Princess of Wales visited the first Queen Elizabeth II Field in Blackburn, 2011.
Fields in Trust is honoured that HRH The Prince of Wales is to become Patron of the charity and continue to advocate for the crucial role parks and green space play in our towns and cities. His Royal Highness will succeed Her Majesty the late Queen Elizabeth II who was Patron for an incredible 70 years.
As President of Fields in Trust HRH The Prince of Wales has championed the importance of creating a better future for parks and green spaces since 2013 and we are both honoured and delighted that he will now become our Patron.Jo Barnett, Chair of Fields in Trust
We believe that parks and green spaces can be pivotal addressing some of the biggest challenges we face today. His Royal Highness has been instrumental in helping us raise awareness of the importance of these spaces for health, wellbeing and the environment; issues that are all incredibly close to his heart.
As we approach our centenary in 2025, we look forward to working with The Prince of Wales to build on our legacy and ensure that communities will always have access to parks and green spaces both now and for generations to come.
HRH The Prince of Wales's patronage comes at an important time for parks and green spaces. This year, our Green Space Index research revealed a bleak picture when it comes to access to nature, with parks and green spaces suffering from cuts in funding or being lost to development. We found that 6.3 million people in Great Britain do not have any access to a park or green space within a ten-minute walk from home, and that 4,000 new spaces need to be created by 2033 to maintain current levels of provision.
HRH The Prince of Wales has been supporting Fields in Trust’s work for a number of years. Since 2007, HRH The Prince of Wales has regularly taken part in polo fixtures, raising funds and awareness for Fields in Trust.
HRH The Prince of Wales was the Patron of our ambitious Diamond Jubilee Appeal, which launched in 2010, leading the efforts to protect and create over 1,200 spaces as a tribute to HM The Queen.
Pictured: The Prince and Princess of Wales visited the first Queen Elizabeth II Field in Blackburn, 2011.
Pictured: A Queen Elizabeth II Field plaque unveiled at Vernon Park, Nottingham 2013.
Beyond the Queen Elizabeth II Fields, HRH The Prince of Wales lent his support to Centenary Fields - a joint project with The Royal British Legion protecting green spaces to honour the memory of those who lost their lives in the First World War. The programme was launched in 2014 by HRH The Prince of Wales and saw 231 spaces protected.
He officially marked the dedication of Kensington Memorial Park as a Centenary Field with a visit in 2016.
HRH The Prince of Wales has also had an important role in launching the first-ever Green Space Index in 2021. The Prince and Princess of Wales marked the launch by visiting Starbank Park in Edinburgh, speaking to volunteers and families about how crucial the protected park has been to the local community.
HRH The Prince of Wales hosted industry leaders at a Fields in Trust roundtable in 2022 to discuss how green spaces can help to tackle some of the key challenges facing communities now and in the future.
The event convened planners, designers, developers, and house builders for a conversation focussing on how green spaces should be championing health and well-being, inclusion and diversity, climate change, and nature recovery.
In his own words, HRH The Prince of Wales shares the close alignment that Field in Trust’s work protecting parks and green spaces has with long-standing areas of interest. These include conservation, spending time outdoors supporting mental health, and access to nature for children and young people.
Few resources hold the potential to impact so positively on a wide range of social issues as parks and green spaces. By protecting these spaces in perpetuity Fields in Trust works to ensure that our children and grandchildren will have places to run, move, breathe and play.HRH The Prince of Wales KG KT
HRH The Prince of Wales steps into his new role as Patron at a key moment for charity as we approach our centenary in 2025.
Fields in Trust was founded in 1925 by King George VI to tackle the problem of children having nowhere to play. Fast forward almost one hundred years, these spaces are just as important to solving the health and environmental crises we are facing today.
In this next chapter we’re looking forward to continuing our pioneering work to put parks and green spaces firmly on the national agenda and ultimately, secure a greener, healthier future for all.