PRINCE WILLIAM TO SPEARHEAD NEW CHARITY FOUNDATION

PRINCE WILLIAM WILL BE SPEARHEADING A NEW PROJECT TO CREATE 2,012 PLAYING FIELDS AROUND THE COUNTRY AS A PERMANENT MEMORIAL TO THE QUEEN IN HER DIAMOND JUBILEE YEAR. ANNOUNCING HIS PATRONAGE OF THE QUEEN ELIZABETH II FIELDS PROGRAM, THE YOUNG PRINCE SAID HE COULD NOT THINK OF A 'MORE FITTING TRIBUTE TO MY GRANDMOTHER'S 60 GLORIOUS YEARS ON THE THRONE', WHICH COINCIDE WITH THE 2012 LONDON OLYMPICS. MORE THAN 6,000 PLAYING FIELDS HAVE BEEN LOST SINCE 1992. UNDER THE PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT THEY WERE, AT ONE POINT, VANISHING AT THE RATE OF ALMOST ONE A DAY, DESPITE LABOR PROMISING TO END THE SELL-OFF 'TRAGEDY' WHEN IT FIRST CAME TO POWER. THE ISSUE BECAME A MAJOR POLITICAL FOOTBALL WITH PRESSURE GROUPS DESCRIBING THE NATIONWIDE LOSS OF PUBLIC AMENITIES AS 'SHAMEFUL'. HOWEVER, OFFICIALS HOPE THAT THE QUEEN'S DIAMOND JUBILEE WILL HELP CAPTURE THE PUBLIC'S IMAGINATION TO SAVE THE VITAL GREEN SPACES FOR THE NATION. THE CHARITY FIELDS IN TRUST, FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE NATIONAL PLAYING FIELDS ASSOCIATION, HAS ALREADY EARMARKED 550 SITES ACROSS THE UK TO BECOME QUEEN ELIZABETH II FIELDS, AND WANTS LOCAL AUTHORITIES TO NOMINATE A FURTHER 1,462 NEW PLOTS. IN A VIDEO MESSAGE RECENTLY, PRINCE WILLIAM SAID: 'PLAYING FIELDS ARE NOT A LUXURY. THEY ARE A VITAL COMPONENT OF ANY HEALTHY AND HAPPY COMMUNITY. THE SAD TRUTH IS THAT, OVER THE YEARS, THOUSANDS OF PLAYING FIELDS HAVE BEEN LOST TO DEVELOPMENT, AND MANY MORE ARE UNDER THREAT TODAY. BEING ABLE TO PLAY OUTDOORS IS A BASIC RIGHT OF CHILDHOOD. THE QUEEN ELIZABETH II FIELDS WILL GUARANTEE THAT MILLIONS MORE CHILDREN ARE ABLE TO ENJOY THAT RIGHT BOTH NOW AND IN THE FUTURE. ON A PERSONAL NOTE, I SINCERELY HOPE THAT THESE FIELDS WILL BECOME A LIVING REMINDER TO ALL OF THE QUEEN'S STEADFAST DUTY, DEDICATION AND LOVE FOR THIS COUNTRY.' IT IS THE FIRST TIME THAT WILLIAM, WHO IS CURRENTLY TRAINING TO BECOME AN RAF SEARCH AND RESCUE PILOT, HAS BECOME INVOLVED IN SUCH A HIGH PROFILE NATIONAL SCHEME. AIDES SAY HE WAS INSPIRED NIT JUST BY THE QUEEN, BUT ALSO BY HIS GRANDFATHER, THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH, WHO HAS BEEN PRESIDENT OF THE FIELDS IN TRUST FOR 63 YEARS.