The King will follow his mother as patron of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), the professional body announced today (May 13).

King Charles III “has agreed to become the new Patron of RPS”, according to an RPS press statement.

RPS chief executive Paul Bennett said that King Charles III’s decision to confer his patronage was “an honour”.

Read more: RPS obscures declining membership numbers in latest annual report

RPS president Professor Claire Anderson said that the King was “following in the footsteps of the late Queen [Elizabeth II] and her father, George VI”. 

“We are grateful to the Royal Family for their ongoing support,” she said.

According to a May 4 press release from Buckingham Palace, a “major review of more than 1,000 Royal Patronages and charity Presidencies” was undertaken after King Charles’ accession to the crown in September 2022.

Read more: Fit for a King: Which pharmacies serve Charles III?

It said that the organisations that had been chosen to receive patronage from the King would be informed “in the coming week”.

According to the palace, Queen Elizabeth II was Patron of 492 organisations at the time of death, of which 376 would be retained “by Their Majesties or other Members of The Royal Family”.

Royal reflection

Last week, C+D reported that RPS’s membership numbers were in decline, with 37,474 “total members" in 2023. The professional body would not share how many of its members were registered pharmacists.

And in August last year, C+D approached pharmacies with Royal Warrants to find out what it's like to provide healthcare to a monarch. Included in this number was Ainsworths Homeopathic Pharmacy on New Cavendish Street, London.

C+D spoke to its owner Tony Pinkus at the time, who said that the royals have had a “strong interest” in homeopathic products since Queen Victoria “and before”.