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King Charles Retains Patronage of British Film Institute

King Charles has retained his patronage of the British Film Institute, the U.K. body for which he’s served as patron for more than 45 years.

The BFI revealed the news on Tuesday, which also marked the 25th anniversary of the opening of London’s BFI Imax, where King Charles — then Prince Charles — cut the ribbon on June 11, 1999.

“We are honored to have the Royal Patronage of HM King Charles III and grateful for the support he has already given us as Patron as The Prince of Wales for 45 years, showing his commitment and passion for film along the way,” said BFI Chief Executive Ben Roberts. “We take our responsibility for caring for the Royal Collection in the BFI National Archive very seriously and are dedicated to ensuring it is preserved for generations to come.”

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A registered charity founded in 1933, the BFI has been governed by Royal Charter since 1983. In 2018, Charles visited the BFI Southbank to celebrate 40 years as the BFI’s Patron, where he met employees including Roberts, BFI Film Academy alumni and British film talent including actors Ruth Wilson, Hayley Atwell, David Oyelowo and Tom Hiddleston. Prince William, meanwhile, is president of BAFTA and has attended the BAFTA Film Awards on several occasions.

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Among its numerous responsibilities, the BFI preserves the Royal Collection of Film. The collection dates from 1931 and consists of more than 1,000 individual reels, which the BFI National Archive has cared for using the specialists skills of its archivists.

Recent BBC feature documentaries “Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen” and “Charles R: The Making of a Monarch” used material from the Royal Collection. A team of BFI film conservation specialists collectively examined and viewed original film reels to assist with their development and to prepare for the digital restoration process of selected reels, including personal home cine movies shot by George VI, The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the royal household. All the newly created 4K digital files for these programs have been preserved in the BFI’s Digital Preservation Archive for future generations.   

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