Royal Foundation

The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales is an independent United Kingdom-based charity which supports the non-profit work of the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Established in 2009 as The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry, it initially focused on their charitable initiatives. Catherine Middleton and Meghan Markle joined the foundation upon their marriages in 2011 and 2018 respectively. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan quit the foundation in 2019 to found Archewell, a mix of for-profit and not-for-profit business organisations.

The foundation's projects revolve around conservation, environmental issues, early childhood development, mental health, emergency services, and homelessness. Key initiatives include United for Wildlife, which aims to prevent illegal wildlife trade, and Heads Together, which promoted mental health awareness. The Centre for Early Childhood, led by Catherine, advocates for early childhood development and launched the Shaping Us campaign in 2023 to raise awareness of the importance of early years. Prince William’s Homewards initiative addresses homelessness through partnerships.

The foundation previously managed the Earthshot Prize, an environmental award established by Prince William in 2020 to promote climate solutions, before it was spun off into the Earthshot Prize Foundation in 2022.

The foundation was formed in September 2009 by Prince William and Prince Harry as the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry to take forward their charitable ambitions. Catherine Middleton (now Princess of Wales) and Meghan Markle (now Duchess of Sussex) later joined as patrons of the foundation in 2011 and 2018 upon their marriages. Prince Harry and Meghan left the foundation in June 2019, opting to focus on their own charitable initiatives through Archewell, a mix of for-profit and not-for-profit business organisations, which they founded in October 2020.

In the month prior to their wedding in April 2011, Prince William and Catherine set up a gift fund to allow well-wishers to donate money to charities the couple cared about in lieu of gifts. The gift fund supported 26 charities of the couple's choice, incorporating the armed forces, children, the elderly, art, sport, and conservation. The fund eventually raised over £1 million for the respective organisations.

The foundation made its first grant in April 2011 to Fields in Trust, a charity which preserves recreational spaces across the UK. In June, it partnered with ARK in developing their "Expanding Horizons" programme, which aimed to support the lives of children. In January 2012, the foundation announced partnership with The Forces in Mind Trust to support former UK military personnel and their families. In July, the Coach Core initiative was launched by Prince William, Catherine and Prince Harry to provide sports apprenticeship for undereducated and unprivileged youth. Coach Core celebrated its first graduation in January 2015, with a reception held at St. James' Palace. In 2018 the Coach Core Awards took place at Loughborough University, celebrating the achievements of apprentices and graduates. As of 2018, Coach Core has had over 400 apprentices and graduates across ten locations.

In July 2014, the foundation, alongside True Colours Trust, launched Pallative Care Pilot, a programme to test methods for supporting families facing serious or terminal illnesses. Later that year, the foundation established the Full Effect project alongside St. Ann's, to help adolescent children find support to avoid youth violence. The project provided after-school programmes for 250 children per week. In May 2016, Prince William created a taskforce to prevent cyberbullying among the youth by recruiting industry partners. In November 2017, the prince launched the Stop Speak Support campaign, designed from the research by the taskforce, to help young people advocate against online bullying.