His Majesty The King Celebrates the British Asian Trust’s Life-Changing Impact at Annual Dinner & Reception
- His Majesty The King, Royal Founding Patron of the British Asian Trust, joined more than 300 guests in celebrating the charity’s impact across South Asia.
- Charity founded by His Majesty in 2007 has supported more than 18.8 million people across South Asia.
- The event raised over £1 million in support of its vital work transforming lives across South Asia
Tuesday 9 June 2026: His Majesty The King, Royal Founding Patron of the British Asian Trust, joined more than 300 guests attending the charity’s Annual Dinner and Reception at the Peninsula London.
During the evening, guests watched a short film reflecting on the origins of the British Asian Trust, inspired by the 2007 India-Pakistan charity cricket event that led to the creation of the organisation. Following the film, His Majesty was presented with a framed photograph from the occasion featuring himself alongside the two team captains.
Guests at the event included host for the evening Sanjeev Bhaskar OBE, Dame Meera Syal, Mahira Khan, Konnie Huq, Kunal Nayyar, Preeya Kalidas, Gurinder Chadha, Naughty Boy and Nihal Arthanayake.
The evening also featured an exclusive performance by international recording artist Jay Sean.
British Asian Trust CEO, Hitan Mehta OBE said: “We are grateful for the continued interest our Royal Founding Patron, His Majesty The King, takes in the Trust’s work. His deep and longstanding support for the British Asian Trust is a source of inspiration for our ambitions.
Tonight, we also celebrate the extraordinary impact being delivered across South Asia, made possible by the commitment and generosity of the British Asian diaspora and our wider partners.”
Sponsored by Westcombe Group, OakNorth and Godwit Travel, the annual gala dinner later raised vital funds to support the British Asian Trust’s groundbreaking work in child protection, education, livelihoods, mental health and conservation.
Thanks to the generosity of guests and supporters, the event raised more than £1 million for the British Asian Trust.
Since its inception in 2007, the British Asian Trust has been working with marginalised communities in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and has reached over 18.8 million people.
In the past year alone, the British Asian Trust celebrates several ambitious achievements. They include:
- In Pakistan, a PKR 1 billion government guarantee got approved for the Pakistan Skills Impact Bond, endorsed by the Prime Minister. This milestone highlights the Trust’s leadership in designing and structuring the country’s first outcomes-based financing programme for employment and marks important progress for social finance in the region.
- It launched a USD 4 million Nano Entrepreneurship Sustainability & Transformation (NEST) Outcomes Facility, India’s first-ever outcomes-based finance initiative targeting ambitious income growth for nano entrepreneurs.
- Achieving a reduction of human and elephant casualties from human-wildlife conflict by 98% in our project areas.
