King Charles III
at Cambridge
The University of Cambridge congratulates His Majesty King Charles III on the occasion of his Coronation.
Here we look at and celebrate the King's longstanding relationship with the University, beginning with his time as a student here in the 1960s and continuing up to the present day.
Prince Charles reads a play with friends sitting on the floor of a College room
Prince Charles reads a play with friends sitting on the floor of a College room
"The University and Colleges are immensely proud of Cambridge’s longstanding links to the Royal Family – and to His Majesty King Charles III in particular.
Not only was he a student here, but he has since remained a steadfast supporter of the University’s work, especially in the field of sustainability.
His Coronation is a moment of great national and international significance, and a day of celebration in Cambridge"
Scroll down through our timeline to explore some of the King's memorable visits and connections with Cambridge.
1967
The future King Charles broke with tradition when he opted to attend university after his A-Levels instead of joining the military.
In October 1967 he was admitted to Trinity College where he read Archaeology & Anthropology and then History.
This photo, affectionately known as a 'matriculation mugshot', was taken in the Wren Library and is a rite of passage for students marking the start of their studies.
1969
During his studies the Prince of Wales undertook an official visit to the Department of Engineering, meeting with staff members working in the laboratory.
On a previous Royal Visit one of those same staff members, Mr Baker, Deputy Superintendent of the Workshop, had presented to HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh (a future Chancellor of the University), a wooden toy helicopter made in the workshop for the then-three-year-old Prince Charles.
1970
The future King became the first British heir apparent to earn a university degree, graduating Bachelor of Arts in June.
As per tradition, in 1975 this was promoted to a Master of Arts degree.
1980s
The Prince of Wales became a Founder Trustee of The Cambridge Trust.
The Trust was established in the 1980s with the specific objective of providing scholarships to students from around the world who lacked the means to fund their studies at Cambridge.
1994
As Royal Founding Patron of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), Prince Charles initiated The Prince of Wales's Business & Sustainability Programme.
Ahead of its time when it launched, the programme continues to equip senior leaders to engage with social and environmental issues and runs annually in Cambridge, South Africa, Australia and Singapore.
1997
In January, Prince Charles met staff and students at the opening of the new Centre for Advanced Religious and Theological Studies.
During the visit, he looked at photos and artefacts that researchers had collected and displayed in the centre as part of their research projects.
2008
The Prince of Wales visited the University Library to open the Commonwealth Reading Room.
The future King viewed a display of materials from the Royal Commonwealth Society's collections and cleaned one of the books that had suffered damage from smoke during the Blitz (before it was acquired by the Library).
2016
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall undertook a visit to pay tribute to three of the University's great institutions.
Their Royal Highnesses visited the Fitzwilliam Museum to celebrate its bicentenary and the University Library to mark its 600th anniversary.
They also attended King's College Chapel to listen to rehearsals, gaining an exclusive preview of the famous Nine Lessons and Carols service to be broadcast around the world that Christmas.
2022
In March, the future King opened The Entopia Building, an ultra-low carbon sustainable HQ for the CISL.
He also met with seven students who were recipients of the 'HRH Prince of Wales Commonwealth Scholarship'. The scholarship, offered by the Cambridge Trust, supported applicants from Commonwealth nations whose studies focused on themes such as climate change, the blue economy and sustainability.
His visit concluded at the Whittle Laboratory, a world-famous turbomachinery laboratory, to learn about work to achieve net-zero aviation.
2023: The University is proud to be involved in
His Majesty's Coronation
• The Gospels of Augustine of Canterbury, the oldest surviving illustrated Latin Gospels in the world, will play a key role in the service. The manuscript has been held in the Parker Library at Corpus Christi College for the last 450 years. When the future King visited in 2001, he recognised their importance and during planning of the Coronation, His Majesty requested the Gospels be part of it.
• His Majesty will be crowned by Cambridge graduate and Honorary Fellow of Trinity, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. The Dean of Westminster, Dr David Hoyle, is also a Cambridge graduate (Corpus Christi College) and Honorary Fellow of Magdalene College.
• Professor David Fergusson, Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge and a Fellow of Magdalene College, will be present in his role as Dean of the Chapel Royal in Scotland.
• David Salmon, of Wolfson College, a 2023 Rhodes Scholar currently studying for his MPhil in Development Studies, will carry his national flag of Jamaica.
• Nigel Hess, of St Catharine’s College, has composed music for the Coronation, as has Tarik O'Regan, of Trinity and Corpus Christi Colleges.
• The Master of the King's Music is Judith Weir, a Cambridge graduate and Honorary Fellow of King’s College and Trinity College.
Credit: The Cambridge Trust
Credit: The Cambridge Trust
The text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Timeline photo credits
Built with Shorthand