Charitable gifting begins at Buckingham Palace
As Prince William and Kate Middleton are planning their April 29 royal wedding, they are also beginning to build their legacy as a royal power couple. Reports state the couple is asking wedding guests and well-wishers to donate to charities, rather than give them personal gifts. They realize the money otherwise spent on gifts will do a greater good when gifted to charities. Prince William and Kate plan to only accept personal gifts from close relatives.
“They want to use the goodwill towards them to help the causes close to them. They are conscious of the hard times the country is going through and do not want their wedding to be seen as ostentatious, ” a courtier said.
[Jan 17]
Prince William’s Charity Work
The charity work and support of Prince William is well known for charities such as Help for Heroes, National Aids Trust, Skill Force, Tusk Trust, Child Bereavement Charity and The Countryside Foundation for Education. In honour of his mother he is also active in the Diana Awards and Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.
Princes William and Harry have established their own charitable foundation, investing a great deal of their own money as the seed for the charitable Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry. The princes had a great mentor in their mother, Princes Diana, and work diligently to emulate the charitable giving and work she did in her short life in the royal family.
Kate Middleton’s Charity Work
The world is waiting to see the charities Kate Middleton will chose to support. The Middleton family’s business, Party Pieces, has a relationship with Starlight Children’s Foundation, an organization which grants wishes to seriously and terminally ill children, reports are that Kate has been asked to work as their patron ambassador. Another charity with whom Kate has worked in the past is Place2Be which provide counselling to schoolchildren in need.
In this time of tightened belts and constrained budgets, this announcement will be a boon to many charities whom Prince William and Kate Middleton give their hearts. What a wonderful place the world would be if everyday citizens followed suit. In this world of second & third marriages and people marrying later in life, many couples are already established and do not need the formerly standard wedding gifts of toasters, flatware or household items. Choose a charity that is close to your heart, or represents something from their lives and donate in their name. The happy couple will know you thought of them and others in need will receive a step up as well.