Prince looks to the future as he restructures his charity work

THE Prince of Wales has announced a major restructuring of his charities ahead of his 70th birthday in November, as he began planning for a future in which he will be king.

Palace sources denied the restructure was directly related to preparations for the Prince to become the monarch, or to enable him to adapt his heavy workload to provide more support to the Queen, stressing he would not be spending less time working with his 21 charities. Instead, it was intended to make the running of his charities more efficient to maximise their impact.

In a video explaining changes to staff yesterday, the Prince said: “As I approach something of a milestone in my own life, I have had a chance to reflect on how best to ensure my charities can continue to help those people and

causes they were initially set up to serve, both now and for many years to come. As I look at the results of this reorganisation, I have a strong sense of optimism and anticipation.

“These changes do not mean I am stepping back from my charitable work or downsizing in any way – it is simply an opportunity to work more efficiently and, I hope, to even greater effect.” Changes will see Michael Fawcett, his long-serving right-hand man, become the chief executive of the new Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation, running Dumfries House and charities concerned with conservation, heritage and the built environment.

A new Prince’s Trust Group will amalgamate the work of the Prince’s Trust and similar charities abroad.

Clarence House has inspired speculation that the Duchess of Cornwall could be given the title of Queen when the Prince accedes to the throne, after a statement about her future name was removed from the couple’s official website. In a redesign, the explicit Palace statement about plans to be “Princess Consort” has been removed from the Duchess of Cornwall’s biography and Q&A section.

Joe Little, of Majesty magazine, said: “It is pertinent to a lot of people – what she will be called. I very much hope she will be Queen Camilla.”