The Duchess of Cambridge's patronages to include helping children, the Arts and becoming a scout volunteer!

It has been officially announced that the Duchess of Cambridge has become patron of four charities. Kate's choices include the arts, utilising her Art History degree and helping children. The lucky four are Oxford based charity The Art Room, The National Portrait Gallery, Action on Addiction and  East Anglia's Children's Hospices. Kate will undetake her first official visits shortly with the first one expected to be within the next eight weeks. St James' Palace said


"The Duchess of Cambridge considers it an honour to be associated with her patronages and is very much looking forward to getting stuck in. Of her four patronages two were selected from letter sent to St James' and the other two through research. Action on Addiction was chosen because as she visited young people's charities almost everyone working in the field pointed to addiction as a major problem and she wanted to help highlight that. More organisations will follow but she wanted to pick a few she can get involved with on a regular basis'.


While in Anglesey Kate will also volunteer privately as a scout with UK Scouting. The palace were eager to stress that William and Kate want to give something back to Anglesey. The Queen is a patron of the scouts and will be pleased to see Kate getting involved.

As an ex brownie, Kate is already well prepared.

Despite her high profile name Kate had to undergo a criminal records check. It is expected Kate will help to supervise games and go on weekend camps. She will also wear the standard uniform, a polo shirt and scarf.


The scout shirt, I can see Kate making this a fashion must have :) (With thanks to WKW FB)

Let's find out a little more about Kate's choices as we will be seeing her working with them in the future. The Art Room is an Oxford based charity aimed at helping 5-16 year olds experiencing emotional and behavioural difficulties. They currently have five school and offer art therapy as a means of helping to increase children's self esteem and sense of independence. 

Kate made a private visit to The Art Room in November dressed casually. Kate obviously took this decision very seriously and it was months in the planning.

Kate also spent time researching her next choice, The National Portrait Gallery. Kate was spotted spending an afternoon taking a tour of the gallery last September. The gallery is a splendid choice for Kate, as an Art History student Kate can appreciate the fact it has the most extensive collection of portraits in the world. Founded in 1856 the aim of the gallery is to 


'promote through the medium of portraits the appreciation and understanding of the men and women who have made and are making British history and culture, and to promote the appreciation and understanding of portraiture in all media'.

Portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots

Kate is eager to use her role for good and her next choice reveals how in touch the Duchess is with social problems. Action on Addiction aims to help people with addiction problems through prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, support for families, education and workforce development. Sadly one in three people suffer from addiction, often in silence. With a high profile figure like Kate supporting this cause hopefully more people will open up and the charity will get the vital support it needs.

Kate's final choice is one that touched my heart. The East Anglia's Children's Hospices known as EACH, supports families and cares for children with life threatening or serious conditions across Norfolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. EACH needs to raise around £4.8 million in public donations to continue providing the service needed. These essential service which include therapies and home care are simply vital. When Kate visited the hospice a thirteen year old girl grabbed her by the hand and took her to the play room, Kate took off her shoes to play on the mats.

The hospice is always planning exciting new projects and ways to improve the service offered to children. They are currently fundraising for a new play area.