King Charles upholds 45-year patronage of British Film Institute
King Charles III has continued his 45-year patronage of the British Film Institute (BFI), a role he has held since his time as Prince Charles. The announcement was made on Tuesday, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of London's BFI IMAX, which King Charles inaugurated on June 11, 1999. BFI Chief Executive Ben Roberts expressed gratitude for the royal patronage and emphasized their commitment to preserving the Royal Collection in the BFI National Archive.
BFI's Royal Charter and King Charles's involvement
The BFI, a registered charity founded in 1933, has been governed by a Royal Charter since 1983. In 2018, King Charles visited the BFI Southbank to mark his 40th year as its patron. During this visit, he interacted with employees including Roberts and British film talents like Ruth Wilson, Hayley Atwell, David Oyelowo, and Tom Hiddleston. His son, Prince William serves as president of BAFTA and has attended the BAFTA Film Awards multiple times.
BFI's role in preserving the Royal Collection of Film
One of BFI's key responsibilities is preserving the Royal Collection of Film, which began in 1931 and consists of over 1,000 individual reels. These reels are maintained by specialist archivists at the BFI National Archive. Recent BBC documentaries Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen and Charles R: The Making of a Monarch utilized material from this collection. A team from BFI examined original film reels for digital restoration, including personal home cine movies shot by members of the royal household.
BFI's digital preservation archive safeguards royal films
The BFI team prepared for the digital restoration of selected reels from the Royal Collection, including personal home cine movies shot by George VI, The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and other members of the royal household. All newly created 4K digital files for these programs are preserved in the BFI's Digital Preservation Archive. This ensures that these significant pieces of film history are safeguarded for future generations to appreciate and study.
