Duchess of Cambridge takes over as patron of Action for Children

The Queen will be stepping down as a patron of 25 national organisations including charities Action for Children, Barnado's, the NSPCC and Save the Children, Buckingham Palace announced this week.

Sir Tony Hawkhead, chief executive of Action for Children, thanked the Queen in a letter for her ‘tireless contribution to raising awareness of the charity's work over the past 50 years.

The Queen became patron of Action for Children, formerly known as the National Children's Home, in 1967.

Action for Children runs 600 services across the country to support vulnerable children, young people and their families. It operates over 200 children's centres.

In August, it took over the charity 4Children, which included the transfer of 41 nurseries.

Last year, the Duchess of Cambridge visited two Action for Children settings, Cape Hill Children's Centre and Sandwell Family Partners, both in Birmingham.

Sir Hawkhead said they are ‘thrilled’ that the Duchess of Cambridge will take over patronage of the charity from the Queen.

‘It is a great honour to begin what I am sure will be a long association with a member of the Royal Family with whom we already have a relationship following visits to some of our services in 2015.

‘The Duchess has an interest in many of the issues our teams deal with across the UK, particularly emotional well-being and mental health. On behalf of the 390,000 children and families we help, our supporters, trustees and staff, I offer a warm welcome to the Duchess of Cambridge as our new Royal Patron.'