Founded in 1931, Friends of National Libraries (FNL) is a British registered charity which works to preserve the country’s written and printed heritage, by supporting acquisitions by libraries, archives and collections.
The Prince of Wales Fund was launched in February 2016, at a high profile reception at Lambeth Palace shortly after HRH The Prince of Wales had become Royal Patron of the FNL, with an objective to raise a capital fund of £1 million. It was considered that this target funding would transform the FNL in perpetuity, allowing them to make grants to secure many treasures of the written word for the nation.
The N Sethia Foundation was delighted to be the first supporter making a substantial donation to the Prince of Wales Fund and the Fund has met, and indeed exceeded, its targeted capital fund of £1 million. In 2018, FNL awarded more grants and to a greater value than ever before when providing 51 grants totalling just under £300,000. Demand for their grants was continued to grow in 2019.
Examples of the work of FNL in 2018 included the return to Canterbury Cathedral and Archives of a 13th century Bible removed during the Reformation and the acquisition by the London Metropolitan Archives of a rare 1851 daguerreotype showing St Pauls and the London wharves.
Photo credit: Friends of National Libraries