King Charles III is the Royal Patron of GOSH

The King accepted the Royal Patronage of GOSH earlier this month as part of the celebrations to mark the first anniversary of the Coronation.

He takes on the duty from his mother Queen Elizabeth II, who became the Royal Patron in 1965. GOSH has a long connection with the Royal Family, with Queen Victoria being the first Patron of the hospital.

King Charles III has a long-standing history with our hospital.

He conducted the annual prizegiving ceremony for the Charles West School of Nursing in 1978.

He also visited GOSH in 1987 prior to the launch of the ‘Wishing Well Appeal’ (1987 to 1989), which funded construction of what we now know to be the Variety Club Building. He showed great commitment to this appeal, later on attending the commemoration service for the appeal at Westminster Abbey in 1989. The ‘Wishing Well Appeal’, amongst other things, saw the creation of a cookbook compiled by the mother of a previous patient – which included a Royal preface.

Matthew Shaw, Chief Executive of GOSH, said: “We are delighted that King Charles is the new Patron of GOSH. It is a huge honour to once again have the monarch of our country in such an important role. We look forward to warmly welcoming him back to Great Ormond Street. We would love to show the King how much has changed since his last visit. His support will be a real lift to our patients and staff alike.”