Page 662 - Liverpool Philharmonic 22-23 Season Coverage Book

LONDON — Jasmine Allen, the director of the Stained Glass Museum in Ely,
England, was preparing to send a letter to Prince Charles this month, asking if he
wanted to extend his relationship with the esoteric museum.

Then, the queen died.

Charles has been the museum’s patron since 1997. It is an honorary role, yet having
his name attached helped with fund-raising and bolstered the museum’s profile in
the news media, Allen said. The prince even stopped by occasionally.

“We’re a small organization, so to have such a significant royal patron is a big deal,”
Allen said. “We were punching above our weight.”

The latest agreed term that Charles would serve as patron ended this summer, and
Allen had hoped Charles would renew it. But now that Charles is king, Allen said that
her letter would remain unsent.

In a televised speech last week, Charles said that it would “no longer be possible for
me to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I
care so deeply.” The important work “will go on in the trusted hands of others,” he
said, implying that other members of his family would take on some of those roles,
though a royal spokeswoman said that such decisions would be taken at a later date,
after the mourning period for the queen was over.

Allen said that her museum would wait to hear from the king’s office about his plans,
but she said that she realized she may soon be joining dozens of other British cultural
institutions in the search for a new patron.

The queen was, at her death, the patron of over 50 organizations, including the Royal
Ballet and the London Symphony Orchestra, as well as lesser-known ones like
the British Open Brass Band Championship. Her son, as heir to the throne, was the
patron or president of more than 100, many connected to his passions for
architecture and traditional crafts like stained glass.

The search for patrons may cause upheaval for arts organizations, but it is also
drawing attention to the centuries-old system of royal patronage. What is it exactly,
how important is it to cultural life in Britain, and what will now happen to
organizations that lose their patrons?

What does a patron do?

A patron is simply someone who lends their name, and often time, to an organization
to act as its flag-bearer, said Eileen Hammond, author of “Patrons, Presidents and
Personalities,” a guide for nonprofits hoping to work with high-profile volunteers.

The level of engagement varies widely, Hammond said. A spokesman for the Royal
Opera said in an email that Charles, its patron, attended performances several times
a year “both in a formal and informal capacity.” Michael Eakin, chief executive of the
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, said that its patron, the queen, had visited the