BHF comment
Celebrating the Coronation of King Charles III at the BHF
Ahead of this weekend’s Coronation, our Chief Executive has thanked the King and Queen for their continuing support to charitable causes, while many of our colleagues and volunteers have been supporting the celebrations.
Picture credit: Chris Jackson
From dressing up our shops and stores to encouraging people to volunteer with us as part of ‘The Big Help Out’, there’s a lot we’ve been doing to help the Royal Family champion the work of charities like ours around this historic occasion.
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, our Chief Executive, said: “My heartfelt congratulations to His Majesty King Charles III and Her Majesty Queen Camilla on Coronation Day. The King and Queen are dedicated to championing charitable causes and volunteering, and I know Their Majesties will continue this invaluable work in the years ahead.
“We are incredibly thankful to the Royal Family for their ongoing support, and on behalf of the British Heart Foundation, I send them our warmest wishes."
Across the country, many of our shops and stores have been decorating their windows in red, white and blue, pulling out royal memorabilia generously donated to us, and adorning their interiors with bunting.
Many of our volunteers have also unleashed their creativity, drawing pictures of King Charles to put on display and even dressing up shop mannequins in the union flag to celebrate the Coronation.
Our 700 UK shops and stores will be given the option to close for up to two hours on Saturday 6th May so that our colleagues and volunteers can watch His Majesty The King’s Coronation. Local notices have been placed in stores that wish to participate.
BHF shops and stores will also close at 2pm on Sunday 7th May. You can find out more about our opening times over the Coronation weekend here.
We’ve also been sharing some heart healthy recipe ideas for those looking for inspiration for the Big Lunch, including British staples like salmon quiche and sweet and savoury scones.
Charity champions
The Coronation is also helping to shine a light on the importance of volunteering to local communities and charities like ours.
Without the support of our thousands of dedicated volunteers we simply wouldn’t be able to keep funding our lifesaving research. That’s why we’re calling on the public to take part in the Big Help Out, by volunteering on 8 May and beyond.
One of these volunteers is Alan Jones who gives up his time to help us at our Carmarthen Home Store. Alan will be joining His Majesty King Charles at his garden party for volunteers after being nominated for all the work he does in his community.
Another volunteer with an incredible story to tell is 94-year-old Margaret Parker– who has volunteered with the BHF’s Sutton Coldfield shop since 1992. Margaret has lived to see five monarchs on the throne – King George V, King Edward VIII, King George V1, Queen Elizabeth II and now King Charles III.
As we come together to mark this huge moment in history, why not think about volunteering to enable us to continue to make history of our own?