UCL will tomorrow mark the coronation of King Charles III by raising the Union flag on our Wilkins building and sending a letter of congratulations to His Royal Highness.
The new King is a significant voice in championing issues that are important to UCL, such as our over-arching Grand Challenges of global importance, including the climate crisis, mental health and wellbeing, inequalities, and intercultural communication.
As the UK welcomes its first new monarch since 1952, the King is taking the throne in a very different political and social climate, at home and globally, to any previous British monarchs. To help explain the new King's role and potential impact, experts at the UCL Constitution Unit and the UK in a Changing Europe initiative, have released a major new report on the monarchy, outlining what the institution does and how it does it, and placing the monarchy in its wider historical and comparative context.
UCL President & Provost, Dr Michael Spence has written a letter of congratulations to the King. He said: "We are pleased to congratulate His Royal Highness on the occasion of his coronation, as we extend our best wishes to him and to Her Majesty The Queen Consort. UCL has long and proud links with the British Monarchy and we look forward to continuing these under our new King."
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited UCL twice during her reign - in 1985 to mark the completion of the Main Quad and in February 2020 to formally open the Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals - while UCL has had numerous visits from other members of the royal family including Anne, Princess Royal and Catherine, Princess of Cambridge.
