The Council, staff and members of the Royal Photographic Society, in the United Kingdom and overseas, join together in a collective sadness and sense of loss at the news of the death of our former Patron, Queen Elizabeth II.
In 1853, the year in which our Society was founded, Queen Victoria became our first Patron and since then we have been humbled and honoured to have enjoyed a long and unbroken line of royal Patrons. In 1952, following the death of her father, King George VI, the new Queen Elizabeth II became Patron of the Society and remained our Patron for 67 years. In 2019, Queen Elizabeth II passed the Patronage to HRH The Duchess of Cambridge who, now HRH The Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge, remains our Patron.
The Council, staff and members of the Royal Photographic Society, in the United Kingdom and overseas, join together in a collective sadness and sense of loss at the news of the death of our former Patron, Queen Elizabeth II.
In 1853, the year in which our Society was founded, Queen Victoria became our first Patron and since then we have been humbled and honoured to have enjoyed a long and unbroken line of royal Patrons. In 1952, following the death of her father, King George VI, the new Queen Elizabeth II became Patron of the Society and remained our Patron for 67 years. In 2019, Queen Elizabeth II passed the Patronage to HRH The Duchess of Cambridge who, now HRH The Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge, remains our Patron.
Throughout its almost 170 year history, our Society has gratefully and respectfully enjoyed an historic and active relationship with the Royal Family that extended far beyond its kind and generous Patronage. In 1894 we first used the prefix ‘Royal’; one hundred and ten years later, in 2004, Queen Elizabeth II granted to the Society a Royal Charter recognising our pre-eminence as a Learned Society in the field of photography. Our peer-assessed distinctions command such enormous respect and standing throughout the world, due in no small measure to our status as a ‘Royal society’ which continues to enjoy Royal Patronage.
On behalf of us all, in this moment of profound grief, I would like to express our most sincere sympathy and condolences to His Majesty The King and HM The Queen Consort, to TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge, and to all members of the Royal Family.
Simon Hill HonFRPS
President of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain
