Prince of Wales visits University

The Prince’s visit began with a trip to the British Antarctic Survey where he met with the Rt. Hon John Hutton MP, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, as well as senior UK & EU business leaders to discuss climate change implications for business and society.

The business leaders are members of The Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change - a Cambridge Programme for Industry organised initiative.

During the course of the visit, the Prince of Wales and business leaders toured the facilities and were briefed on the latest climate change science. After the Prince departed, the Secretary of State spoke to the guests, emphasising the importance of Britain becoming more energy efficient.

His Royal Highness then attended a lunch reception at Trinity College for Cambridge students holding Cambridge Commonwealth Trust or Cambridge Overseas Trust awards, with Trustees and distinguished guests.

From there, he travelled the short distance to the University Library where he was shown some of the ‘crown jewels’ of the Royal Commonwealth Society Library, housed within the UL, before unveiling a plaque commemorating his visit.

Introduced by Vice-Chancellor Professor Alison Richard, His Royal Highness recounted what he described as his ‘own small part’ in helping to preserve the wealth of material that forms the RCS Library - a unique collection of thousands of books, manuscripts and photographs of the British Empire, Commonwealth and beyond.

The Prince of Wales was patron of a £3m appeal which saved the collection from dispersal in the early 90s and brought it to the University Library where it has continued to grow and is available to researchers around the world.

Speaking to the assembled guests, the Vice-Chancellor said that the schedule for The Prince of Wales’ visit to Cambridge demonstrated the diversity and benefits of the partnerships forged by the University within Cambridge and beyond.

She cited the British Antarctic Survey’s move to the city, collaborations between academia and industry, and the University’s close links with Ridley Hall – the Prince’s final destination yesterday – as examples of the ‘ecosystem’ formed by the University, Colleges and partner institutions.

She added: “The Cambridge ecosystem transforms the personal experiences of our students, teachers and researchers. It also transforms the world.”

Ridley Hall, part of the Cambridge Theological Foundation, is a college training future clergy for ordination in the Church of England and has links with the University through the Foundation.