King Charles faced a major blow on Thursday night as the CEO of his flagship charity, the King's Foundation, stepped down after less than three years in the role. Kristina Murrin CBE, a former civil servant at 10 Downing Street, has left the role just weeks after the premiere of Charles's new documentary on Amazon Prime, Finding Harmony: A King's Vision.
It comes just weeks after the Chair of the Foundation, Dame Ann Limb, quietly left her role in December. The Foundation is currently in the process of appointing a successor to Kristina, with Emily Cherrington leading the organisation in the meantime.
According to The Sunday Times's Whitehall Editor, Gabriel Pogrund, the decision has left the King "profoundly unhappy" and has resulted in "instability" at the top of the charity.
However, in an official statement the charity said: "Kristina leaves with the sincere thanks and best wishes of the board and the wider leadership of The King’s Foundation, having led the charity through an exciting period of expansion.
"The process to appoint a successor is underway. In the meantime, at the request of the board, Emily Cherrington LVO, Deputy CEO of The King’s Foundation, has agreed to lead the organisation."
The shake-up at the top of the organisation comes amid a difficult time for the monarch, as he deals with the fallout from the arrest of his brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, last week on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
© POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesCharity's statement
Michael Jary CBE, Acting Chair of The King’s Foundation’s Board of Trustees, said: "Since her appointment in 2023, Kristina has done an outstanding job leading the organisation through an exceptionally busy time. She oversaw the international expansion of the Foundation in Australia, launched our Awards programme and led on the organisation’s repositioning and rebranding.
© POOL/AFP via Getty Images"Most excitingly, she oversaw the production of the documentary feature film – Finding Harmony: A King’s Vision, which premiered at Windsor Castle last month. Her creativity and leadership have been transformative for the Foundation, raising our profile, engaging with new supporters and global Ambassadors, and driving the charity’s 35th-anniversary celebrations. She leaves the Foundation in an extremely strong position and we wish her all the best for her many exciting projects to come."
What is the King's Foundation?
The King's Foundation has its headquarters at its flagship regeneration project, Dumfries House in Ayrshire. It aims to build "sustainable communities and transform lives", according to its website, by working on global projects, such as practical education programmes.
It hopes to ensure we live in harmony with nature, for the benefit of people, places and the planet. The Foundation provides over 15,000 students with the chance to learn new, practical skills every year.
Notably, it is a different organisation from his King's Trust youth charity, which was previously known as the Prince's Trust before Charles came to the throne. It was founded by His Majesty as Prince of Wales in 1976.
