The National Theatre announced today that Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, is the organization’s new royal patron. Camilla takes over from Meghan Markle, who gave up her royal patronages when she and Prince Harry exited their roles as senior working royals.
Back in June 2019, Kensington Palace announced that Meghan would succeed her grandmother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth, in the role as patron of the theater. Kensington Palace shared, “The Duchess is a strong believer in using the arts to bring people from different backgrounds and communities together.” Before Meghan married Prince Harry, she was best known as an actress appearing on Suits, so a drama-based patronage made sense.
In February 2020, the National Theater’s artistic director Rufus Norris shared that Markle was still extremely involved in the organization, saying “she has proven to be a very engaged patron, and we look forward to working with her.” Yet, in February 2021, after a year-long review, Meghan and Prince Harry had to officially give up their royal patronages and they reverted back to Queen Elizabeth.
In a statement, the National Theatre thanked Meghan Markle for her support, saying, “The Duchess championed our work with communities and young people across the UK and our mission to make theater accessible to all.”
Now, Camilla, an avid theater-goer, is set to follow in Meghan’s footsteps.
