Prince Charles has a new role as the patron of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London and his appointment comes as the music organization will be celebrating its 75th anniversary in September 2021.
According to reports, Prince Charles will be helping the Orchestra achieve its goals in the years to come as their patron. The Prince of Wales will be able to tap a broader audience for the company and open opportunities for the younger generation who might enjoy performing and playing with the Orchestra in all platforms available.
The royal's appointment as patron comes as the Orchestra has also assigned a new music director in Vasily Petrenko. James Williams, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra's managing director, said that these changes will spark new hope for the arts community, especially after the United Kingdom has eased up on its lockdown restrictions and could see the resumption of concerts and public performance with a live audience soon.
Charles has stressed the importance of the arts, especially during this pandemic. He and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, were present at a musical performance for a small crowd last December 2020 in London and Soho to see how entertainers and performance artists are getting by in this global crisis. In January, the Prince of Wales attended an online concert presented by Philharmonia Orchestra, where he is also the patron, and then spoke about his love for music with BBC Radio's Private Passions show.
Meanwhile, The Telegraph reported that Prince Andrew used to be the patron of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra but he has not been an active working royal since he stepped back from his duties in late 2019. There are speculations that the Duke of York has been looking to rehabilitate his image so he could return to work but this does not go with Charles' plan to slim down the roster of working royals.
Sources cite that when Charles becomes king, he would only want seven working royals as he believes they need to cut down the costs of running the monarchy at the expense of taxpayers. These official working royals would be just his immediate direct line -- Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and Camilla.
Royal expert Angela Levin said this was what Prince Charles has wanted for a long time and has broached this idea to Queen Elizabeth. However, his mother, the queen, wanted to retain the traditional arrangement, which also included her cousins as working royals.
