The University of Cambridge welcomed Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT, Chancellor of the University, today as part of the University’s 800th Anniversary Celebrations.

Her Majesty and His Royal Highness attended a formal lunch at King’s College to celebrate long service to the University by its employees. The 100 longest-serving employees of the University, along with their guests, were invited to attend, with an average of more than 39 years service to the University.

Following the lunch, Her Majesty and His Royal Highness made their way to the Senate House, where a Loyal Address to The Sovereign on the occasion of the 800th Anniversary was presented to Her Majesty.

The University is one of the few institutions which claim the ancient right to present addresses to the Sovereign, the right having existed since the reign of Elizabeth I. The last time the University presented such an address was in 2002, during The Queen’s Golden Jubilee Year.

The address welcomed Her Majesty and offered her “our dutiful and heartfelt welcome as we mark the eighth century of our University, as we celebrate our history and achievements, and as we contemplate our future.” For the full text click the link on the right of this page.

In her response to the address Her Majesty said: “This is a wonderful occasion on which to reflect on the enormous contribution that Cambridge University has made to the life and well-being of this country, and many others throughout the world during the last eight centuries.”

The Queen also designated a new Regius Professorship of Botany. Sir David Baulcombe, currently Professor of Botany, will become the first to hold the new position. The new post brings the total number of Regius Professorships at Cambridge to seven. The first Regius Professorships: Civil Law, Divinity, Greek, Hebrew, and Physic were created in 1540 by Henry VIII, and the Professorship of Modern History was created by George I in 1724.

Finally, Her Majesty sealed the final box in a set of eight archive boxes containing 800 “Letters to the Future”. The letters – one for each year of the University’s history – have been written by University staff, students, alumni, local community groups and representatives of more than 80 higher education institutions from around the world.

Following the sealing ceremony, the letters were taken to the University Library to be stored, and they will not be opened until 2109 – on the occasion of the 900th Anniversary of the University. 

 

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