Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie have now closed The Earl & Countess of Wessex Charitable Trust. The trust was set up ahead of the couple's wedding and was previous called The Bagshot Park Charity. Then later, the Wessex Youth Trust.
The trust had been largely inactive for the last a few years. The initial funding for the trust came from the media rights for the couple's 1999 wedding. The couple did not do much fundraising beyond that. The trust issued grants to small charities twice a year, mainly focusing on children's charities.
In 2022/2023, The Earl & Countess of Wessex Charitable Trust transferred their remaining funds £110,000 to The Edinburgh Trust No2. The Edinburgh Trust No2 was founded by the late Prince Philip and supports "general charitable purposes". Mainly it is used to provide financial support to Prince Phillip's patronages.
The Edinburgh Trust No2 was handed over the Edward & Sophie after Philip's death in 2021.
From The Edinburgh Trust No2's 2021 Annual Report. Most of these orgs were patroanges of Prince Philip.
I think the decision to close The Earl & Countess of Wessex Charitable Trust was because it had served it's initial purpose to distribute the money from the wedding media rights. And that Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie wanted to shift their focus and energy supporting to the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, which is a large part of their royal duties.
According to the Court Circular, the last official engagement for The Earl and Countess of Wessex Charitable Trust was a dinner held in January 2020.
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