HRH Princess Royal becomes Glasgow Caledonian University Patron

Glasgow Caledonian is delighted to announce that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal has become its Patron.

The Princess Royal is also Patron of areas of strong mutual interest including midwifery, emergency medicine, occupational therapy and championing education opportunities for women and girls – particularly in STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics & Medicine).

Glasgow Caledonian is the leading University in Scotland for widening access to higher education, with the largest intake of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, including significant numbers of care-experienced students and those joining us with existing caring responsibilities – areas of interest to Her Royal Highness.

The University’s royal connection stretches back to 1944, when Queen Elizabeth II, as Princess Elizabeth, became Patroness of one of GCU’s founding institutions, the Glasgow and West of Scotland College of Domestic Science. On accession to the throne in 1952, the Princess’ patronage of the College automatically ceased. However, as Queen Elizabeth II, she renewed it, an honour which the College Governors said indicated her ‘continued interest in and appreciation of the work of the College’.

Welcoming the patronage and renewed royal relationship, Glasgow Caledonian University’s Principal and Vice-Chancellor Professor Steve Decent said:

“It is a great honour for Glasgow Caledonian to have The Princess Royal as Patron for our University and to renew our long-standing royal connection. This is particularly poignant as we approach the 150th anniversary year of one of our founding institutions. Now, as then, we remain dedicated to delivering positive social and economic benefits to the communities we serve. We look forward to discussing areas of keen mutual interest and exploring future opportunities for delivering great societal benefit with Her Royal Highness as Patron.

“We offer our sincere thanks to The Princess Royal for agreeing to be our Patron, and the University very much looks forward to welcoming Her Royal Highness to see our work first hand in the time ahead.”

Scottish Funding Council statistics highlight that 23% of Glasgow Caledonian’s Scottish full-time, first degree entrants are drawn from the country's 20% most-disadvantaged backgrounds. The University has also been named UK Modern University of the Year for Graduate Jobs in a major UK university guide.