King Charles Renews BFI Patronage
King Charles has retained his patronage of the British Film Institute.
The organization made the announcement this morning, marking the 25th anniversary of the opening of BFI IMAX in London where King Charles III (then Prince Charles) cut the ribbon on June 11, 1999.
A registered charity founded in 1933, the BFI has been governed by Royal Charter since 1983. In 2018, Charles visited the BFI Southbank to celebrate 40 years as the BFI’s Patron, where he met BFI employees including Chief Executive Ben Roberts, BFI Film Academy alumni, and talent including actors Ruth Wilson, Hayley Atwell, David Oyelowo OBE, and BFI Ambassador Tom Hiddleston. The monarch was also shown Peter Sellers’ script from The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976) with handwritten notes by the comic actor, and promotional material from The Pink Panther, one of his favorite films.
The BFI also preserves the Royal Collection of film. The film collection dates from 1931 with more than 1,000 individual reels of film. Recent BBC feature documentaries Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen (2022) and Charles R: The Making of a Monarch (2023) have presented material from the Royal Film Collection.
“We are honored to have the Royal Patronage of HM King Charles III and grateful for the support he has already given us as Patron as The Prince of Wales for 45 years, showing his commitment and passion for film along the way,” said Ben Roberts, BFI Chief Executive.
“We take our responsibility for caring for the Royal Collection in the BFI National Archive very seriously and are dedicated to ensuring it is preserved for generations to come.”
