An audience with The King

The grand ballroom of Buckingham Palace. 1:15 pm precisely. A roomful of bishops and borough councillors, students and swordbearers rises in awed silence as the Countess of Wessex’s String Orchestra strikes up the National Anthem. Two Gurkhas advance up the aisle. Between them: the King.

The University of Cambridge was present at the Palace as one of the 27 prominent organisations invited to present Loyal Addresses to the monarch. These ‘Privileged Bodies’ include religious and civic organisations, learned societies and universities; the Bank of England, The Royal Academy, the Quakers.

In the past, the privilege of speaking directly to the seat of power was a priceless lobbying opportunity. Now it’s about tradition, a representative of each institution given a maximum of one minute to highlight its historic ties to the royal family, pledge allegiance to the new monarch and present the printed text of its Address. The last time it happened was in 2012, in celebration of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee. This time the occasion was the accession of His Majesty King Charles III; each speaker began by mourning the loss of the late Queen.

Our delegation was led by the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Anthony Freeling. He was accompanied by the Registrary, the Proctors, the Esquire Bedells, the University Marshal, and other representatives of the University community: the Master of Jesus College, the President of the Postdocs of Cambridge Society, and the undergraduate and postgraduate Student Union Presidents.

Getting us all to the Palace was a logistical feat, masterminded by the University Marshal and the staff of the Vice-Chancellor's Office. The sealing and witnessing of the University's Address the day beforehand was an occasion in itself!

After each delegation leader had delivered their address, and the King had given a brief speech in response, the varied delegations were welcomed at a reception in the Palace’s stunning Picture Gallery. And as the King moved through the room, some members of the Cambridge delegation had the opportunity for a brief conversation with His Majesty.

If you’ve attended a graduation ceremony in the Senate-House you may have noticed the two large books, bound in leather and brass and adorned with chains, which the two Proctors carry. Loath to be without our statute books, we were perhaps the only guests at the Reception carrying props! The Senior Proctor’s book certainly caught the King’s eye...

I was able to explain to His Majesty that this is the first printed edition of the Statutes of the University. When it was produced in 1785, it was bound with a few hundred blank pages for later additions and amendments. The first of these, agreed at Pembroke College on 31 May 1786, covered which members of the Nobility were entitled to honorary degrees from the University.

The list included “persons related to the King’s Majesty by consanguinity or affinity, provided they be also Honourable” – but of course King Charles himself had to work for his degree!

I later learned that the King has his own copy of this same 1785 edition. It was presented to William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester & Edinburgh (another Trinity College alumnus), when he became Chancellor of the University in 1811, and was probably bought for the Royal Collection by William IV. I like to think that the King plucked it off a shelf somewhere in the Palace later that day and had a leaf through... Perhaps not, but it was a genuine privilege to bring our own bit of Cambridge history to this historic occasion.

Published 23 March 2023

Photos: Karen Ottewell, Nick Saffell, Ian Jones, Seb Falk
Design: Hilary Fletcher

The text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.