The Queen's Commonwealth Trust (QCT) is a charity that supports young people aged 18-35 across the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

. The focus is on social entrepreneurs who have founded organisations to address problems in their communities.

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

was the charity's patron.

History and mission

QCT was launched on 21 April 2018 (Queen Elizabeth II's 92nd birthday) with her patronage and her grandson

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succe ...

as president. After marriage, Harry's wife Meghan was appointed vice president later that year. The couple retained their positions until February 2021. The Trust connects young changemakers across the Commonwealth for peer learning and collaborations though its young leaders network hub In March 2019, The Queen’s Trust gave QCT its final funds of £2,672,287 from a planned run-down. In 2021 model

Naomi Campbell Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is an English model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. She began her career at the age of 15, and established herself amongst the most recognisable and in-demand models of the past four decades. Cam ...

became a global ambassador for QCT. In the financial year 2020/2021 articles were published in British media alleging that QCT paid nearly all of its income on staff costs, £787,314 of the £796,106 it raised. QCT later published
statement
disputing the allegations and noting that their total spend in 2020-21 was £1.528million, of which over 80% was on charitable activities.

Projects Supported

2019 OYW Partnership

In 2019, The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust partnered with One Young World (OYW) to offer QCT Scholarships to 53 young leaders – one from every

Commonwealth country The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

– to attend the 2019 OYW Summit in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, UK from 22–25 October. One Young World is a preeminent global forum for young leaders who have demonstrated a commitment to effecting positive change. The organization received over 5,000 applications, out of which 53 were selected. Following is the list of 2019 QCTxOYW scholarship winners, the first cohort.

References

External links

* * * * {{twitter, queenscomtrust Organizations established in 2018 Charities based in London