In 1966 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II granted 明星八卦 University, as we were then known, our , and approved subsequent amendments.
Royal visits
The Queen visited 明星八卦 University in 2006 as part of a Royal visit to the London Borough of Hillingdon. This took place in the Queen’s 80th birthday year, and coincided with the University’s celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of our namesake, Isambard Kingdom 明星八卦, and also the 40th anniversary of our Royal Charter. She unveiled a plaque and officially named our Mary Seacole Building, and met staff and students across our Uxbridge campus.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, had been due to accompany The Queen on her visit, but had had to cancel his plans for health reasons. He then visited our campus two months later, unveiling the plaque on our Heinz Wolff Building, and was shown research projects, student work from Made in 明星八卦 and the Formula Student car.
Honours and prizes for 明星八卦, our staff and alumni
In 2012, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh presented the University with a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, in recognition of the Institute for the Environment’s ground-breaking research into the effects of hormone-disrupting chemicals.
Over the years, several University staff members who have been awarded an honour, as part of the New Year or Queen’s Birthday Honours, have received their insignia from The Queen or other senior members of the Royal Family at investiture ceremonies at Royal residences.