Celebrating King Charles III’s Coronation
As many across the country prepare to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III this Saturday, we want to share stories of when colleagues have met the King and times when he visited campus.
Prince Charles officially opening National Automotive Innovation Centre (NAIC)
Prince Charles’ most recent visit to the University of Warwick happened in February 2020. He was on campus to officially open our National Automotive Innovation Centre (NAIC).
Lisa Harding, Associate Director of Corporate Communications, Strategic Projects.
Lisa met Prince Charles when he was at Warwick to officially open NAIC in 2020.
Lisa said “I was the lead on the launch/ visit. He stopped to talk to me on his way to the podium to undertake the official ‘unveiling’. I found him to be very personable and he had certainly enjoyed his short visit to NAIC.”
“A lot of teams work hard in the lead up to a royal visit to make sure the campus is looking the best it can and to ensure a smooth event, it is so nice to see this appreciated.”
Professor Chris Ennew OBE, Provost.
Prince Charles presented Chris with her OBE in November 2016. She was awarded the OBE as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours, for services to Higher Education and British-Malaysian Relations. When being presented with the OBE they discussed universities and their work internationally.
Laura Harris, Outreach Officer - Pathways Programmes.
Laura met Prince Charles when working for the Prince’s Trust in 2016.
Laura said “I was invited to Buckingham Palace to mark the 40th anniversary of The Prince's Trust. I had the opportunity to meet the now King and we discussed the outreach projects I'd worked on.”
Professor Sascha Becker, Economics.
During a holiday in Scotland in 2016, Sascha spotted Prince Charles.
Sascha said: “We attended the Ballater Highland Games, not expecting anything special except the games.
“Suddenly people started turning round, and there was Prince Charles. We did not talk, but we got close to him as he was chatting with the locals.”
Charlotte Ridley, Director of Brand and Marketing
Charlotte previously worked as Head of Brand and Marketing for The Prince’s Trust, HRH The Prince of Wales largest charity.
She met him on several occasions during her 10 years there and observed him interacting with young people who had been helped by the charity.
Charlotte said: “Whether you like the monarchy or not, I have to say that he was amazing in his determination and passion to change young lives and help young people overcome disadvantage.”
“Every day I’d hear inspiring stories about how someone had been saved from difficult and many terrible circumstances because the charity had believed in them when no one else would. I saw HRH spend so much time talking to young people away from cameras and TV crews, just listening and engaging with them. I saw how much he cared, and it made me such a huge fan of him and the charity.”
On campus this weekend? We are screening the Coronation of King Charles III in the Piazza for anyone who wants to watch live..