The Governance RegisterEdition 2026 · Compiled 13th September 2026

The Royal Literary Fund

Registered charity 219952 Registered since 1964

Operates: Throughout England And Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland

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Board DNA

How this board is put together, from Charity Commission trustee records and Companies House - deterministic, no AI.iBoard compositionCounted from the dated Charity Commission trustee register: the current board only, past trustees excluded.

22 trustees on the board

5.4y median 5.5y
average tenure
14y
longest tenure

Trustees past 6 years

7.8y
average years in governance

First-time vs portfolio trustees

First-time (17)

Portfolio (5)

5
company-linked trustees

Sector coverage iSector coverageThe charitable fields this board's trustees govern in elsewhere, by Charity Commission classification. Excludes this charity.

Education/training 22The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty 22Arts/culture/heritage/science 2Economic/community Development/employment 1General Charitable Purposes 1

Commercial experience iCommercial experienceThe industries this board's members are company directors in, by Companies House SIC code. Excludes this organisation's own company.

Arts and leisure 4Other services 2Education 1

Gaps to watch

  • Several long-serving trustees could step down together

Succession forecast iSuccession forecastThe number of board seats likely to open in the next twelve months - summed across the board from each dated trustee’s tenure - and the profile worth recruiting next. From the filed record, deterministic.

🔒 Succession forecast is a Pro feature - the board seats likely to open in the next year and the ideal next trustee. Explore Pro →

Health of the organisation facts side by side - the conclusion is yours

Income v spending, filed accountsiIncome v spendingTotal gross income and expenditure from filed annual returns, Charity Commission, last 5 years.
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
incomespending£4.3m latest income · spending exceeded income in 2024 and 2025
ReservesiReserves12 x free reserves / annual expenditure, from the Part B annual return. The sector median is computed across all Part B filers in the same income band.

120.0 months of spending held in free reserves · median for charities its size: 3.9 months · was 6.3 in 2021

12 from 5 in 2021
EmployeesiEmployeesHeadcount as filed in Part B annual returns, per financial year. Shown exactly as filed; year-on-year figures may be filed on different bases, so a comparison is only shown when the filings are plausibly comparable.

Related organisations iRelated organisationsTwo groups, both deterministic from public records. Related organisations share two or more trustees with this board - a real structural link, such as a subsidiary or sister charity. Connected through a shared trustee share exactly one person - a genuine connection, but not the same group. A board with no shared trustee at all may still appear here when it is active in the same charitable field.

Connected through a shared trustee

Also active in the same field

Deterministic, from public records.

Contact

Websitewww.rlf.org.uk
Emailedward.kemp@royalliteraryfund.org.uk
Phone02073537159
Address3 JOHNSON'S COURT, OFF FLEET STREET, LONDON, EC4A 3EA

Finances

£4,268,586 latest income

YearIncomeSpending
2021£3,051,218£6,648,232
2022£4,716,593£6,737,678
2023£3,160,852£7,816,992
2024£4,220,139£8,328,366
2025£4,268,586£9,135,868

What it does

What

Education/trainingThe Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty

Who

Other Defined Groups

How

Makes Grants To Individuals

Charitable objects

(A) THE RELIEF OF POOR AND DISTRESSED AUTHORS OF PUBLISHED WORKS OF APPROVED LITERARY MERIT INCLUDING IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO PERIODICAL LITERATURE AND OF THE FAMILIES OF SUCH DECEASED AUTHORS WHO ARE THEMSELVES IN DISTRESS AND IN NEED OF RELIEF. (B) THE ADVANCEMENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION AND THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE PUBLIC TASTE IN THE FIELD OF LITERARY WORK.

Governing document: ROYAL CHARTER 14 DECEMBER 2006. And Royal Charter granted on 09 Mar 2023as amended by an Order in Council on 09 Mar 2023

Trustees (22)

22trustees
62median age
1aged 70+

Connected charities (5)

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