To mark The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee we are celebrating her support for the UK’s churches.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth has been our Royal Patron since 1953 when we were founded as the Historic Churches Preservation Trust. In that time we have supported over 12,000 churches with grants and loans in excess of £100 million.
To mark Queen Elizabeth's support, we have produced a special Jubilee Proclamation which thanks her for her patronage of church buildings and heritage.
Featuring a striking colour photograph of The Queen, the Jubilee Proclamation includes a special message of thanks:
“On behalf of churches, chapels and meeting houses across the UK, we would like to thank Her Majesty The Queen for being the Royal Patron of the National Churches Trust and the Historic Churches Preservation Trust since 1953. Churches are impressive, exciting, and surprising places. Thank you, Your Majesty, for your support which helps us to keep churches open, thriving, and at the heart of local communities.”
The Jubilee Proclamation has already been published in The Church Times and will be featured in a number of other newspapers and magazines in May and June 2022. We are also making the proclamation available to churches, chapels and meeting houses for publication in parish magazines, newsletters, on church websites and to display on church noticeboards.
You can download the Jubilee Proclamation here.
Luke March, Chairman of the National Churches Trust said:
"As one of the first charities to be honoured with the Patronage of Queen Elizabeth, we are very grateful to have had her support continuously throughout her reign."
"Our origins date back to the early 1950s when the condition of parish churches was in a perilous state, following the Second World War."
"After almost 70 years of our work, challenges still remain, but we are determined to ensure that churches continue to be at the heart of communities throughout the UK and that their magnificent heritage is safeguarded for future generations. Since 1953 we have helped keep many thousands of churches open, being used and in good repair, confident in the steadfast support of Queen Elizabeth.”
Royal Chaplains
In another Jubilee celebration people can learn more about Her Majesty’s close relationship with churches and about royal services at a special National Churches Trust ‘In Conversation’ online event on June 15 with Revd Canon Ann Easter, a former Chaplain to Her Majesty the Queen.
Book your tickets here. (Suggested donation £25)
From 2007 - 2017 Revd Canon Easter was a member of the College of Royal Chaplains, which forms part of The Queen’s Ecclesiastical Household.
Royal Chaplains from across England, Wales and Scotland are available to Her Majesty at any time and preach once a year at a royal residence. Royal Chaplains wear a scarlet cassock and a special bronze badge consisting of the royal cypher and crown within an oval wreath.
Revd Canon Ann Easter was born and brought up in the London Borough of Newham, Ann is an elected member of Newham Council and is Commissioner for InterFaith Dialogue for the London borough.
She contributes to various television and radio programmes including BBC Radio 2’s ‘Pause for Thought’ and BBC Radio 4’s ‘The Daily Service’. She was the moral and spiritual adviser to Big Brother’s ‘Bit on the Side’.