King Charles Confirms 17th Century Royal Tradition Will Continue Under His Reign

King Charles accepts position of SPCK Group's royal patron, a royal tradition from 1695. ABOVE: King Charles archive portrait from 2019.

King Charles III is set to continue a royal tradition that dates back centuries.

In a pause from his recent trend of breaking the royal family's customs and protocol, the 75-year-old monarch has agreed to become the royal patron of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK Group), per a press release shared by the longstanding charity.

The "royal patronage," as dubbed by SPCK Group, was previously held by the late Queen Elizabeth II and can be traced back well past the king's mother and to Queen Anne in 1695.

"Links between the Society and the Crown go back to the time of Queen Anne who in 1695, while still a Princess, subscribed ￡44 to support Thomas Bray's scheme for sending books to encourage learning and religion in the American colonies," per information shared on the organization's official website. "This project led to the foundation of the SPCK a few years later."

The website also notes that the charity has been active since 1698 and "distributed over 30 million books and has provided the means for translating the Book of Common Prayer into more than 200 languages," making SPCK Group the third-oldest English publisher still in operation.

"We are deeply honoured that His Majesty, King Charles, has become our new royal patron, retaining the historic connection between SPCK Group and the royal family that we, as an organisation, cherish," said Sam Richardson, CEO of SPCK Group in a statement. "We were privileged to have the support of the late Queen Elizabeth II as our patron, as well as to have had links to the royal family since the 17th Century, and we are excited to renew this relationship through the patronage of King Charles in 2024 and beyond."

Charles' new role with SPCK comes just days after the monarch accepted another patronage once held by another royal family member, meaning, even after having to postpone a few engagements, this summer is going to be a busy one for the king, despite his presumed ongoing treatment of an unspecified type of cancer he was diagnosed with earlier this year.

Next: King Charles Ruffles Feathers With Landmark Change at Windsor Castle