Royal Couple Asks for Charitable Donations as Wedding Gifts

April 25, 2011— -- Prince William and his fiancee, Kate Middleton, have created a website that asks people who intend to send wedding gifts to make a charitable donation instead to The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry, made to support some of the charities that are "close to their hearts."

The Royal Wedding Charity Fund names five causes and information on the charities that Prince William and Kate think exemplify each cause. Well-wishers can choose either to donate to the fund or to one of the specific charities.

The five causes support children, families, servicemen and the environment. Here are just some of the charities that the couple says reflect the "experiences, passions and values of their lives so far."

Children Fulfilling Their Potential

Venture Trust: Encourages change through challenges in Scotland's wildernesshttp://www.venture-trust.org.uk

Beatbullying.org: Working with young people to create a bullying-free worldhttp://www.beatbullying.org/

Help and Care at Home

Berkshire Community Foundation: Provides grants for local projects in Berkshire's communitieshttp://www.berkshirecommunityfoundation.org.uk/

Youth Access: Helps over 1 million people with mental health and social welfare problemshttp://www.youthaccess.org.uk/

Conservation for Future Generations

Earthwatch: Research that supports environmental decision making to work toward a more sustainable futurehttp://www.earthwatch.org/

Zoological Society of London: Supports conservation efforts for several endangered animals throughout the world, including tigers, rhinos and elephantshttp://www.zsl.org/

Changing Lives through Art and Sports

Dance United: Lives transformed through dancehttp://www.dance-united.com/

Ocean Youth Trust: 2,000 young people each year learn skills and confidence while learning to sailhttp://www.oyc.org.uk/

Support for Services Personnel and Their Families

Combat Stress: Provides services free of charge to servicemen and their familieshttp://www.combatstress.org.uk/

Army Widows' Association: Provides services and support to widows, widowers and partners of service men and women who have died since 1981.http://www.armywidows.org.uk/