The King has become the patron of a Southampton sailing society.

His Royal Highness King Charles III accepted the Patronage of Southampton-based Sailors‘ Society, continuing a royal tradition that goes back to Queen Victoria.

The late Queen Elizabeth II had been the Patron of the global maritime welfare charity for 70 years.

She performed her first solo ceremony as Princess Elizabeth opening a new Sailors’ Society Home in Aberdeen in October 1944 and continued to support the charity's work through her reign, attending the open-air televised Songs of Praise that celebrated the Society's 175th anniversary.

On her death, the palace began a review of more than 1,000 organisations and charities that had held the patronage of Her Majesty and the former Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.

The Palace wrote to Sailors’ Society CEO, Sara Baade, to inform her that His Majesty would be delighted to accept the patronage of Sailors’ Society - commenting that it was 'a great pleasure' to share this news with the charity to mark the first anniversary of Their Majesties’ Coronation.

Responding to the news, Sara said: “We are delighted and proud that His Majesty is our new Patron. Royal patronage has been a truly important part of our history, and we are thrilled that it will continue to be a very special part of our future.

“Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was our patron for seven decades and it meant a great deal to our supporters, beneficiaries and global teams whenever Her Majesty attended a celebratory service or wrote words of encouragement for our mission.

“We look forward to inviting His Majesty to key commemorative events, but in the meantime we hope His Majesty will accept grateful thanks on behalf of everyone at the society and all the seafarers and their families we support across the world.”

Within years of ascending the throne, Queen Victoria was taking a great interest in the society and her son, Prince Albert, the Prince of Wales, became the first Royal Patron.

The patronage of Sailors’ Society passed to King Edward VII and to subsequent monarchs since then.

For more than 200 years, international maritime charity Sailors’ Society has been transforming the lives of seafarers and their families.

The charity works to provide 'practical, emotional and spiritual' welfare support 24/7 to the 1.9million seafarers in the UK today, supporting wellbeing across every area of their lives and giving them the best opportunity to enjoy a fulfilling - and productive - career at sea.

For more information on the charity’s work, please visit www.sailors-society.org