King Charles announces rebranding of Prince's Trust

Charity that helps thousands around the world to be known as King's Trust

King Charles III with young students taking part in a Prince's Trust International enterprise challenge. The king has announced that the charity will now be known as the King's Trust. Reuters

Britain’s King Charles III has announced a significant change to the branding of his well-known Prince’s Trust by renaming it the King’s Trust.

Three of his major charities will all be rebranded following the king’s accession earlier this year.

Most famous among them is the Prince’s Trust, which will now become the King’s Trust, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday.

It was founded by King Charles while Prince of Wales in 1976 and aims to help young people “who have faced disadvantage and adversity to build a better future for themselves”, the palace said.

Since its formation, the trust has helped more than a million young people across Britain and, since 2015, it has also operated abroad, delivering programmes to regions including the Middle East and Africa through the Prince's Trust International.

A Prince's Trust spokeswoman told The National that the “evolution of our name” meant that the organisation would be able “to retain proximity to our founder”, reflecting the king’s dedication to the charity.

“As we work towards this change over the coming months, we will continue to support young people and communities who face disadvantage and adversity to access employment, education and training, in the UK and around the world,” she added.

The announcement came as Prince William, the current Prince of Wales, travelled to Singapore for a four-day trip to take part in Earthshot Week, which brings together businesses and investors to advance their solutions for climate change.

Every year, Earthshot presents five category winners with £1 million ($1.2 million) each to scale up their environmental ideas.

Ahead of Cop 28 in the UAE, the prince acknowledged the climate crisis during his speech on Wednesday but maintained “optimism and hope” for the planet’s future.

“The last year has been one of great change and even greater challenge,” he said. “A year in which the effects of the climate crisis have become too visible to be ignored.

“However, as we have seen tonight, hope does remain. The light of optimism is burning bright in our Earthshot finalists.”

Buckingham Palace also announced that in addition to the Prince’s Trust change, the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund will now become the King Charles III Charitable Fund.

The charity, founded in 1979, awards grants to help people and communities to change the world around them. It was inspired by the king’s “values of harmony and sustainability”, the palace said.

It supports a number of causes including the environment as well as health and well-being.

Another charity that focuses on “creating communities where people, places and the planet coexist in harmony” will now be known as the King’s Foundation.

Formerly the Prince’s Foundation, formed in 1986, the charity is active across several of the king’s holdings including Highgrove in Gloucestershire, the Castle of Mey in Caithness and sites in London including the Garrison Chapel.

The foundation’s works educate people on how practical knowledge from the past can create sustainable community prosperity in the present.

Every year, more than 250,000 people visit its houses and gardens, and the foundation also delivers “life-changing programmes” for 15,000 students, the statement said.