HRH The Princess of Wales
In 1853, the year in which our Society was founded, Queen Victoria became our first Patron and since then we have been humbled and honoured to have enjoyed a long and unbroken line of royal Patrons. In 1952, following the death of her father, King George VI, the new Queen Elizabeth II became Patron of the Society and remained our Patron for 67 years. In 2019, Queen Elizabeth II passed the Patronage to HRH The Duchess of Cambridge.

‘The interchange of thought and experience among Photographers’. 1853 and the founding of the Photographic Society

Throughout our 168-year history, the Royal Photographic Society has grown and evolved alongside the practice of photography. This evolution has been driven by the ambitions of our members, by leaps in technology, and by changes in society.

The RPS is a worldwide community of thousands of people who love photography and who believe in its importance as an artistic, scientific and expressive medium. Our Regional hubs, international Chapters and specialist Groups are all led by volunteers, working with the staff team. Many eminent photographers also volunteer to help us with Distinctions assessments, advice, talks and mentorship. This spirit of generosity has been the hallmark of the RPS since its foundation.

The Photographic Society, as The RPS was originally known, was not the first photographic society but it was the first to be formally organised to have been in continuous existence in the same form since its foundation. It took only a few years from the announcement of photography in 1839 for the first loose gathering of amateur photographers to come together.

The Society has evolved as the interests and needs of its members have changed and, particularly, as photography itself has changed – not least since the mid-1980s. As The Society enters its 170th year it is an opportunity to look back to 1853 and how the Society was formed and what it achieved during its first year.