Britain’s Prince Charles formally opened new student accommodation at Cambridge University yesterday (23.02.15).
Staff and students at Peterhouse – the oldest college at the prestigious educational establishment – welcomed the 66-year-old royal, who marked the official opening of the Whittle building.
The facility – which houses 22 student rooms, a common room, bar, gym, function room, two music practice rooms, a Fellow’s set and a guest room – is named after the investor of the jet engine and former Peterhouse student Sir Frank Whittle and has been designed to compliment and complete the fourth side of a Tudor-Gothic court dating back to 1826.
The opening of the extension now means the college is able to house all of its undergraduate students on-site for the duration of their courses.
In addition to the Prince of Wales, the Bishop of Ely and local dignitaries including town mayor Gerri Bird were also present at the opening ceremony.
Peterhouse master Professor Adrian Dixon is reported by the Cambridge News newspaper as saying: "Peterhouse is a place where, rooted in tradition and security, new ideas, and successive generations of the brightest young people, have evolved, grown and taken wing. It is therefore appropriate that the new building is named after former student, Sir Frank Whittle.
"We would like to thank His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, for opening this new chapter in our long history."
Prince Charles himself studied archaeology and anthropology and then history at Cambridge’s Trinity College between 1967 and 1968 while his son, Prince William, enrolled in an agriculture course at the university last year.
Prince Charles opens new Cambridge University building
