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The royals and the Red Cross: celebrating over 150 years of royal support

Exploring over 70 years of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's work with the British Red Cross, and a history of longstanding support from the Royal Family.

A long history with the Royals

When our organisation was founded in 1870, Queen Victoria became the charity’s first patron. Over time, various members of the family have been involved with Red Cross fundraising appeals and events, and raised awareness of our life-saving work.

Support from the Royal family remains strong today. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II championed our work for over 70 years, first as patron of the Junior Red Cross and later as patron of the British Red Cross when she ascended to the throne in 1952.

Throughout her life, she showed her enduring support for the work of the Red Cross and gave recognition to the contributions of our inspirational volunteers.

This exhibition is now online only.

Visit the online exhibition.

Exhibition highlights

The exhibition includes rarely seen photographs of the late Queen Elizabeth II and members of the Royal Family, medals awarded to volunteers, and objects connected to key events in our history. Scroll down to see some of the highlights from the exhibition or view the full online exhibition.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Over the years, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II showed enduring support for Red Cross staff and volunteers - many of whom have met the Royals or have been given awards established or approved by the Royals to honour their bravery.

Queen Victoria (1819 - 1901)

Queen Victoria became the first patron of the National Society for Sick and Wounded (later renamed British Red Cross in 1870). She expressed her support, writing in a letter, 'Most sincerely does the Queen wish the Red Cross Society every possible success, and will be thankful for any future account.'

  • Queen Victoria visiting wounded soldiers, 1900s

    Queen Victoria visits soldiers at the Royal Victoria Hospital, in Netley during the Boer War. She laid the foundation stone for the hospital, which included a British Red Cross hutted hospital on site.

  • Royal Red Cross medal, 1914 - 1918

    Awarded to Red Cross volunteer Lady Katherine Weston Barker, for her work during WWI. The award was instituted by Queen Victoria in 1883 - one of the first British Military Orders soley for women.

King Edward VII (1841 - 1910) and Queen Alexandra (1844 - 1925)

Following the reconstitution of the British Red Cross in 1905, King Edward VII became the patron and Queen Alexandra became the president. She signed the petition for the charity's first Royal Charter, which was granted by King Edward VII in 1908.

Queen Mary (1867 - 1953) and King George V (1865 - 1936)

King George V became patron in 1910 and Queen Mary took on the role of president in 1925. in 1919, the King granted a Supplementary Charter to the Red Cross, so it could also carry out peacetime work.

Princess Mary (1897 - 1965)

Princess Mary was an active supporter of the British Red Cross from the age of 17. During WWI she visited hospitals, worked as a VAD at the Great Ormond Street Hospital and established the Princess Mary gift fund.

King George VI (1895 - 1952) and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (1900 - 2002)

In 1936, King George VI was granted patronage of the British Red Cross while Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) became the president.

Princess Alexandra (1936) and Princess Diana (1961 - 1997)

Princess Alexandra started her work with the Red Cross as patron of the Junior Red Cross in 1954. She took on the role of Deputy president in 1998 - a position she still holds today. Princess Diana became patron of the Red Cross Youth in 1983 and Vice president of the Society in 1993.

Catherine, Princess of Wales (1982)

During our 150th anniversary, the Princess of Wales (Duchess of Cambridge at the time) wrote to 150 outstanding staff and volunteers to thank them for their inspiring work during the Covid-19 pandemic.

  • Catherine, Princess of Wales

    On our 150th anniversary, Catherine, Princess of Wales (Duchess of Cambridge at the time) wrote: "I would like to thank the many thousands of staff and volunteers who have contributed tirelessly to the organisation's work."

  • WWI volunteer record card for Olive Middleton

    The Princess of Wales' great-grandmother, Olive, was one of the 90,000 British Red Cross volunteers who worked tirelessly to care for the sick and wounded in WWI.

King Charles (1948)

His Majesty has been an active supporter of the Red Cross for many years. As HRH Prince of Wales, His Majesty was appointed president of the charity in 2003 in succession to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

For more than 150 years we have been there for people who have nowhere else to turn, and we won’t stop now. By giving monthly, you can become part of something bigger, offering hope, support and stability to people in crisis.

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