President

His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent KG

HRH The Duke of Kent has been President of the RNLI since 1969. The Duke of Kent succeeded both his father and his mother as President of the charity: the late Duke of Kent was President from 1936-1942. The late Princess Marina followed him as President from 1943-1968.

The Duke of Kent attended his first RNLI AGM at the Royal Festival Hall in 1972.

As President, the Duke of Kent has attended many of the Institution’s events, including the official opening of the RNLI College by HM The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh in July 2004. In April 2005 at RNLI Headquarters in Poole he attended the naming of a new all-weather lifeboat, The Duke of Kent.

2009 saw His Royal Highness mark 40 years as President of the RNLI. At the charity’s annual presentation of awards, he was presented with a diorama in recognition of his four decades of service and commitment.

In July 2004 HM The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh performed the official opening of the RNLI College, where the charity’s lifeboat crew and lifeguards are trained to save lives at sea.  Declaring the College officially open, Her Majesty said: ‘Having just seen some of the excellent training that is already being delivered, I am certain that the Lifeboat College will play a vital role in helping the RNLI to save even more lives at sea.’ The Royal Party then posed for a photograph with 233 coxswains and helmsmen, representing the RNLI stations and volunteer crews that will benefit from the College.