His Royal Highness, Prince Charles of Wales, launches his foundation in Romania on Tuesday, June 2. The Prince of Wales Foundation aims to support heritage preservation, agriculture and sustainable development in Romania.

The organization is led by a Board whose members were named by Prince Charles himself. The current members of the Board are William Nye, Andrew Wright, Paula Wilson and Count Kalnoky. Aura Woodward is the executive manager of the organization.

“The Prince of Wales Foundation will work closely with rural communities across the country, to assist locals in learning new professions and skills that will help them find a job,” said Woodward.

Prince Charles offered his foundation a Saxon house that he owns in Romania’s Viscri village through his charitable foundation in the UK - The Prince of Wales's Charitable Foundation. Initially, many of the new foundation’s activities will take place here.

The property will be restored and turned into the Prince of Wales Training Center in Transylvania. It will have a conference room with 70 places, a cafe and accommodation spaces.

At first, the Prince of Wales Foundation will organize restoration courses in this new center, for both local communities and students and apprentices from abroad. Other courses and programs will be organized in the future, depending on the rural communities’ needs.

The foundation will also support other charity programs developed by the Prince and other charity organizations.

Besides the house in Viscri, Brasov county, the Prince of Wale’s Charitable Foundation in the UK also owns a property in Zalanului Valley, Covasna county.

The two properties, managed by Count Kalnoky and his wife Anna, are opened to the public and can be rented. The profit will be exclusively used for the Prince of Wales Foundation’s charitable activities.

Prince Charles first visited Transylvania in 1998. his love for Romania is already well known - the British heir to the throne got involved in preserving the country’s rural areas and traditional architecture.

The Prince of Wales is the Patron of Transylvania Fest, a fair with Transylvanian products and crafts. He is also the Patron of FARA (Faure-Alderson Romanian Appeal), a charity organization that helps children and adults suffering from mental illness.

The Prince has been supporting many other organizations over the years, such as Mihai Eminescu Trust, ADEPT Foundation, Monumentum, Kalnoky Trust, and INTBAU Romania.

How did Prince Charles start his yearly visit to Romania?

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com