Wedding W&C: Over £ 1 million pounds for charity

TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Catherine, Princess William of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern-Ireland, have received over one million pounds in wedding gifts to benefit charities they selected.

The Press release:

"The Royal Wedding Charitable Gift Fund - over £1m to benefit Royal Wedding Charities

22nd June 2011

£1,058,367 has been contributed to the Royal Wedding Charitable Gift Fund, which will go to benefit the 26 charities personally chosen by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The funds will be distributed amongst the charities by the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry.

The couple set up the Charitable Gift Fund so that anyone who wished to give them a wedding gift could instead donate to their chosen charities in celebration of their wedding. The majority of donations made were through the Royal Wedding Charitable Gift Fund Website.

Contributions to the Fund were also made via revenue raised from wedding-related projects including a donation by Decca Records from the sales of the official Royal Wedding Album and a donation made by Mario Testino’s office from the sales of the photograph of the couple printed in the official wedding brochure.

In addition to the Charitable Gift Fund Website, members of the public and wedding guests sent donations directly to the charities themselves and to the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry to add to the Wedding Gift Fund.

A breakdown of the money contributed to the Royal Wedding Charitable Gift Fund is as follows: 

• £559,104 was donated to the Royal Wedding Charitable Gift Fund by members of the public and wedding guests;
• £247,000 was generated from rights due to The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry that the Trustees allocated to the Gift Fund; and
• £252,263 was paid directly to the 26 charities.

The 26 charities to benefit from the fund were grouped into particular areas: Changing Lives through Arts and Sport; Children Fulfilling Their Potential; Help and Care at Home; Support for Service Personnel and Their Families; and Conservation for Future Generations.

The charities include some based in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, to reflect the couple’s close ties to and affection for the three countries following visits by The Duke in the past.

The full list of charities to benefit from the fund is:

Peace Players, Ocean Youth Trust, Greenhouse Schools, Oily Cart, Dance United, IntoUniversity, Venture Trust, Beat Bullying, Keyfund, A National Voice, Association for Children’s Palliative Care (ACT), Youth Access, Community Foundation in Wales, Scottish Community Foundation, Berkshire Community Foundation, Combat Stress, Cruse Bereavement Care for Children of Forces’ Families, Household Cavalry Benevolent Fund, Irish Guards Appeal, Army Widows Association, Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, ZSL, EarthWatch, The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary, New Zealand Government’s Christchurch Earthquake Appeal, Royal Flying Doctor Service – Australia

Members of the public were able to donate through the Royal Wedding Charitable Fund website (www.royalweddingcharityfund.org) between 16th March and 31st May. Donations, via the website, were possible in six currencies. Donations could also be made by telephone, by text message or by sending a cheque.

http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/the_royal_wedding_charitable_gift_fund_over_1m_to_benefit_ro_1142276503.html"