BF has sent a letter of condolence to its Royal Patron, Her Majesty The Queen. His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh was a supporter of youth sports and patron of BF’s partner, London Youth since 1947.
On 9 April 2021 Buckingham Palace announced the death of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh. On behalf of British Fencing and our members, the BF President Hilary Philbin has written to our Royal Patron, Her Majesty the Queen, to express our deepest condolences.
The letter includes reference to the support given to young people in sport. Hilary writes, “His Royal Highness will be remembered for his long and distinguished public service, but with particular affection for The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme which has given encouragement and a sense of achievement to countless young fencers over the years.”
The late Prince Philip’s first charity patronage in 1947 was one of BF’s current partners London Youth. His Royal Highness visited over 120 projects in the capital in his 70 years of patronage before retiring from public engagements.
The youth sports organisation was hosted at Buckingham Palace in 2017, where the Duke watched a group of young fencers demonstrate their skills (read more here).
Out of respect, BF will only be publishing business-critical news stories during the Period of National Mourning, which lasts until midnight on Saturday, April 17th, 2021.
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