Through his keen interest in the Arts, The King provides support to organisations in the worlds of art, music and theatre - as he does in many other fields - through becoming Patron or President.
As Prince of Wales, His Royal Highness became Honorary President of the Royal Academy of Arts Development Trust and, in 2015, 2022, and 2023, commissioned paintings of 12 D-Day veterans, seven Holocaust survivors, and ten members of the Windrush generation, respectively, which went on display at the Queen's Gallery in Buckingham Palace.
In the 1980s, The King (as The Prince of Wales) began inviting artists to accompany him on official tours overseas and record their impressions, a tradition that has continued to this day.
Traditional Arts
The Royal Drawing School, formerly known as The Prince’s Drawing School, was founded by The King (as The Prince of Wales) and artist Catherine Goodman in 2000 to foster the practice of drawing from observation.
The King, when was The Prince of Wales, became Patron of The National Gallery in February 2017 and consequently succeeded his father, The former Duke of Edinburgh, as Royal Visitor of The Royal College of Art in 2018.
His Majesty (when he was The Prince of Wales) founded The King’s Foundation (formerly known as The Prince's Foundation) in 1986, which is based at Dumfries House, Ayrshire, and is active across Highgrove Gardens in Gloucestershire, The Castle of Mey in Caithness and sites in London including The Garrison Chapel and Trinity Buoy Wharf.
The Foundation offers a diverse range of innovative and inspiring education and training programmes for all ages and backgrounds, from traditional arts and heritage craft skills, to architecture and design, science, engineering, horticulture, wellbeing and hospitality.
In February 2022, The Princess of Wales (when she was The Duchess of Cambridge) joined The King and Queen (as The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall) at Trinity Buoy Wharf, one of The Foundation's training sites in London, to hear more about the work the organisation do to support young apprentices.
The King's Foundation attracts over a quarter of a million visitors to its houses and gardens each year, delivers life-changing programmes for 15,000 students, and vital health and wellbeing programmes for 2000 people annually.
Watercolours
The King has been painting for most of his adult life, during holidays or whenever his schedule allows – whether on private holidays, or during a spare moment on an overseas tour.
His Majesty's interest began during the 1970s and 1980s when he was inspired by Robert Waddell, who had been his art master at Gordonstoun in Scotland.
In time, The then Prince met leading artists such as Edward Seago, with whom he discussed watercolour technique, and received further tuition from John Ward, Bryan Organ and Derek Hill.
The copyright of His Majesty’s watercolours belongs to A.G. Carrick Ltd, a trading arm of the King Charles III Charitable Fund. The name uses two of The King's four Christian names - Arthur and George - and one of his former titles, The Earl of Carrick.
Take a closer look at His Majesty's watercolours here.
Over the years, The King has agreed to exhibitions of his watercolours and of lithographs made from them, on the understanding that any income they generate goes to the King Charles III Charitable Fund.
For His Majesty’s 50th birthday, 50 of his watercolours were exhibited at Hampton Court Palace and, for his 70th birthday, his works were exhibited at the National Gallery of Australia.
In 2001, 20 lithographs of his watercolour paintings illustrating his country estates were exhibited at the Florence International Biennale of Contemporary Art and 79 of his paintings were put on display in London in 2022.
To mark the 25th anniversary of his Investiture as Prince of Wales in 1994, the Royal Mail issued a series of postage stamps that featured his paintings.
Performing Arts
When he was The Prince of Wales, His Majesty became President or Patron of more than 20 performing arts organisations including the Royal College of Music, Royal Opera, English Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Welsh National Opera, British Film Institute, and Purcell School.
As Prince of Wales, His Majesty became President of the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1991 and is known to take a keen interest in Shakespeare, having performed in plays whilst at university.
In July 2023, The King and Queen hosted a reception at Windsor Castle to celebrate the contribution of William Shakespeare to the life and culture of the UK, in the year that marked the 400th anniversary of the publication of the First Folio.
Previously, in 2016, The then Prince of Wales visited Stratford to mark 400 years since William Shakespeare’s death. His Royal Highness joined renowned theatre actors on stage at Stratford and performed Hamlet as part of Shakespeare Live! from the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon, featuring performances that celebrated Shakespeare's legacy.
The King and Queen regularly attend theatre and opera performances and symphony concerts, sometimes as part of a fundraising event and sometimes in a private capacity.
Musical Participation
The King, who learned to play the piano as a child, sang in the choir of Gordonstoun School, which he attended from 1962 to 1967, and took part in several public performances.
The young Prince also played the trumpet and cello during his time at Gordonstoun.
While The King was an undergraduate at Cambridge, he continued to play the cello, performing in a symphony concert by the Trinity College Orchestra on 4th December 1967.
In June 1978, The then Prince of Wales sang with the Bach Choir, of which he became President, at a performance of Handel's Coronation Anthems in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, conducted by Sir David Willcocks.
In 2000, when he was The Prince of Wales, His Majesty revived the tradition of harpists being assigned to the Royal Court, by appointing an Official Harpist to The Prince of Wales.
The appointment of the first harpist Catrin Finch, a Welsh-born student at the Royal Academy of Music, recognised the importance of the harp to the culture and music of Wales, and of supporting young Welsh talent.
The most recent Royal Harpist, Alis Huws, from Powys, was among a number of Welsh musicians and composers to have been personally selected by The King to feature in the Coronation Service.
Film
In September 2021, The King and Queen (when they were The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall) were joined by The Prince and Princess of Wales (formely The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) to attend the World Premiere of the latest James Bond film, No Time to Die, at the Royal Albert Hall.
The Premiere benefitted charities supporting serving and former members of the three intelligence agencies (the Secret Intelligence Service, the Security Service and GCHQ), of which His Majesty was Patron as The Prince of Wales.
In his role as Patron of the British Film Institute (BFI), The King had previously, in 2019, visited Pinewood Studios to tour the set and meet cast and crew, including Daniel Craig, Naomie Harris, Lashana Lynch and Ralph Fiennes.
During the visit, His Royal Highness also met BFI Apprentices who were working on the film.
