The Princess Royal joins celebrations for UCL’s 200th anniversary

The Princess Royal visited UCL in her role as Chancellor of the University of London, of which UCL is a member institution. The visit comes almost 100 years after King George V and Queen Mary visited UCL to mark the institution's centenary in June 1927.  

Her Royal Highness was welcomed to UCL’s newly remodelled quad, taking time to view the new bicentennial commemorative stone, before proceeding into the Wilkin’s Building to meet the teams behind the UCL200 programme. 

In UCL’s remodelled North Cloister, Her Royal Highness met with representatives of the UCL200 programme and learnt about UCL’s history, from its architectural heritage to its vibrant student-life traditions, as she viewed items from UCL Special Collections. Her Royal Highness was also shown footage of King George V and Queen Mary’s centenary visit in 1927. 

The Princess visited UCL’s Octagon gallery, currently home to the Two Centuries Here exhibition. The exhibition explores UCL’s past, present and future as London’s first and largest university. This free exhibition considers UCL’s progressive origins, far-reaching impact, global community and vibrant future through photography, objects, artefacts, stories, dialogue, and interactive experiences.    

Her Royal Highness also met representatives of UCL Estates, Burwell Architects and Neilcott Construction who led the transformation of UCL’s main Quad and Wilkins Building as part of the Bicentennial Physical Legacy Works. Joining a group of over fifty students in UCL’s South Cloister, The Princess Royal unveiled a plaque to commemorate the official reopening of the Cloisters.  

Later, in UCL’s Japanese Garden, The Princess Royal viewed some of the Faces of UCL portraits and profiles on display. Faces of UCL is a powerful snapshot of the people who have contributed to 200 years of ground-breaking research, innovation, education and impact at UCL.