His Majesty The King to become Patron of the Royal Academy of Engineering

This announcement, made today, 11th June, coincides with the 48th anniversary of the Academy's inaugural meeting as the Fellowship of Engineering. The meeting was hosted at Buckingham Palace by His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who served as Senior Fellow of the Academy.

Professor Sir Jim McDonald GBE FREng FRSE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: “We are honoured that His Majesty King Charles III is to become Patron of our Academy. We warmly welcome His Majesty’s longstanding interest in the role of engineering in society, particularly in building a more environmentally sustainable world, and we look forward to working with him to enhance the UK’s capacity to tackle national and global challenges. We have also been honoured to have His Majesty present the recent winners of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, continuing the legacy of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in recognising engineers who have delivered groundbreaking innovations of global benefit to humanity.

“His Majesty’s late father, HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was Senior Fellow of the Academy and was pivotal in its development from its inception in 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering. The Academy is also deeply grateful to receive outstanding support from Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal and His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent as Royal Fellows.”

This evening the Academy will welcome Royal Fellow HRH The Princess Royal to its Prince Philip Dinner, held in honour of the Founding Senior Fellow. At this event Her Royal Highness will present the Academy’s highest individual award, the Prince Philip Medal, to Arogyaswami Paulraj, Professor Emeritus of electrical engineering at Stanford University and inventor of some of the core technology behind 4G and 5G phone communication.