His Majesty attends annual Crafts at Christmas event at Highgrove Gardens

His Majesty The King attended our Crafts at Christmas event at Highgrove Gardens on Friday 13 December.

The annual event celebrates our work to preserve traditional and heritage craft skills that are at risk of being lost through training courses run at Highgrove and Dumfries House.

Christmas festivities were in full swing with Highgrove decorated for the season, and live carols performed on-site.

The King met students and alumni who have benefitted from our education and training programmes, including two current students from our Millinery programme, pictured here.

The CHANEL & The King’s Foundation Métiers d’Art Millinery Fellowship in Partnership with Le19M was created to preserve the skill of millinery artisans. It takes place predominantly on-site at Highgrove Gardens in our specialist education workshop.

The King met blacksmith Ian Thackery. Ian has been practising as a Blacksmith since 2008 and supports our Building Craft programme as both a tutor and a placement provider. He offers a wide range of skills and services from sympathetic restoration and repairs, to modern architectural pieces.

Olawunmi, a resident of the Akoje Residency based at Dumfries House, showcased her artwork to The King during the event. Olawunmi is a self-taught artist from Nigeria. She has a distinctive painting style and has been influenced by what she has seen so far while touring Scotland. 

The King also met a wide range of other people benefitting from our education programmes, including stained glass makers, weavers, stonemasons and woodcarvers.

We support more than 15,000 students every year to access education opportunities. Discover the variety of ways you can study with us at The King’s Foundation.