Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College | ||
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University of Cambridge | ||
Scarf colours: dark green, with two equally-spaced narrow white stripes | ||
Location | MCR qmcr | |
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Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.[4] Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the River Cam with the Mathematical Bridge and Silver Street connecting the two sides.
College alumni include
As of June 2023[update], the college held non-current assets valued at £179 million.[3]
The president of the college is the economist
History
Queens' College was founded in 1448 by
In 1446 Andrew Dokett obtained a charter from Henry VI to found St Bernard's College, on a site now part of St Catharine's College. A year later the charter was revoked and Dokett obtained a new charter from the king to found St Bernard's College on the present site of Old Court and Cloister Court. In 1448 Queen Margaret received from her husband, King Henry VI, the lands of St Bernard's College to build a new college to be called "Queen's College of St Margaret and St Bernard". On 15 April 1448, Sir John Wenlock, chamberlain to Queen Margaret, laid the foundation stone at the south-east corner of the chapel.
By 1460 the library, chapel, gatehouse and President's Lodge were completed and the chapel licensed for service. In 1477 and 1484
In the early 17th century Queens' had become a very fashionable college for the gentry and aristocracy, especially for those with more Puritan leanings.
During the English Civil War the college sent all its silver to help the King. As a result, the president and the fellows were ejected from their posts. In 1660 the president was restored.
In 1777, a fire in the Walnut Tree Building destroyed the upper floors, which were rebuilt 1778–82. In February 1795 the college was badly flooded, reportedly waist-deep in the cloisters.
In 1823, the spelling of the college's name officially changed from Queen's to Queens'. The earliest known record of the
In 1980, the college for the first time allowed females to matriculate as members, with the first female members of the college graduating in 1983.[7]
Coat of arms
The arms are the paternal arms of the first foundress queen, Margaret of Anjou, daughter of
Badge
The silver boar's head is not the official arms of the college, but, rather, a badge; a white boar was the badge of Richard III. The earliest evidence of the college using a boar's head as a symbol is from 1544. The gold cross stands for St Margaret, and the gold crozier for St Bernard, the two patron saints of Queens' College. There is also a suggestion that the saltire arrangement of these (like the St Andrew's Cross) is an allusion to Andrew Dokett, the first president of Queens'. Today, this badge is widely used by college clubs, and also appears in connection with food or dining.
Buildings and location
Queens' College has some of the most recognisable buildings in Cambridge. It combines medieval architecture and modern architecture in extensive gardens. It is one of two Cambridge colleges whose core buildings straddle the River Cam[citation needed] (the other being St John's). The two halves are joined across the river by the Mathematical Bridge. The two banks are colloquially referred to as the "light side" and the "dark side".[citation needed] Queens' College is located to the south of the centre of the city. It is the second southernmost of the colleges on the banks of the River Cam, primarily on the east bank. (The others—in distance order—are King's, Clare, Trinity Hall, Trinity, St John's, and Magdalene to the north and Darwin to the south).
Cloister Court
The President's Lodge of Queens' is the oldest building on the river at Cambridge (ca. 1460).
Old Court
Old Court was built between 1448 and 1451. Stylistic features suggest that this was designed by and built under the direction of the master mason
The War Memorial Library is the present student library. The War Memorial Library was formerly the original chapel, part of Old Court. It was named in honour of Queens' College alumni and members who died in service in the Second World War. Before the 1940s, the student library was the present Old Library.
Old Library
The Old Library was built in 1448, part of Old Court, and situated between the President's Lodge and the original chapel. It is one of the earliest purpose-built libraries in Cambridge. It houses a collection of nearly 20,000 manuscripts and printed books. It is especially notable because nearly all printed books remain in their original bindings, because Queens' has never been wealthy enough to afford re-binding all the books in a uniform manner, as was the fashion in the 18th century. It is also notable because it contains the earliest English
Walnut Tree Court
Walnut Tree Court was erected 1616–18. Walnut Tree Building on the east side of the court dates from around 1617 and was the work of the architects Gilbert Wragge and Henry Mason at a cost of £886.9s. Only the ground floor of the original construction remains after a fire in 1777, so it was rebuilt from the first floor upwards between 1778 and 1782, and battlements were added to it in 1823. This court was formerly the site of a Carmelite friary, Cambridge Whitefriars, founded in 1292, but is now the location of the college chapel and various fellows' and students' rooms. The walnut tree in the court stands on the line of a former wall of the friary, and was a replacement of an older one in the same position after which the court was named.
The college chapel in Walnut Tree Court was designed by
Friar's Court
The College experienced a growth in student numbers during the 19th century, bringing with it the need for additional student accommodation. The President's second garden was taken as the site for new student accommodation called Friars' Building, designed by W. M. Fawcett and built in 1886. The building, named after the Cambridge Whitefriars, accommodates 52 students and fellows.
Friars' Building is flanked to the East by the Dokett Building. Dokett Building was designed by
The Erasmus Building completes Friar's Court on the West. It was designed by
Cripps Court
Fisher Building
Named after
The Mathematical Bridge
The Mathematical Bridge (officially named the Wooden Bridge) crosses the River Cam and connects the older half of the college (affectionately referred to by students as the "dark side") with the newer western half (the "light side", officially known as "The Island"). It is part of one of the most photographed views in Cambridge; the typical photo being taken from the nearby Silver Street Bridge.
Popular fable has it that the bridge was designed and built by
The bridge was repaired in 1866 due to decay, and had to be completely rebuilt in 1905. The rebuild was to the same design but made from teak, and the stepped walkway was made sloped for improved wheelchair access. A handrail was added on one side to help the
Gallery
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The President's Lodge, as seen from Cloister Court
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Old Court in the snow
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Sundial in Old Court
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Bell tower and clock above the War Memorial Library
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Cloister Court
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Chapel and Walnut Tree Court
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Silver Street with Queens' on the left
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The Fisher Building viewed from Queens' Green
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Lyon Court
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Queens' College Chapel
Academic profile
Queens' College accepts students from all academic disciplines. As in other Cambridge colleges, all candidates go through an interview process. Undergraduate applicants for some courses are required to take an admission test in advance. For example, from 2022, applicants in economics are expected to have taken the Test of Mathematics for University Admission before they can be admitted.
Like all other Cambridge colleges, undergraduate education is based on the tutorial system. Most undergraduate supervisions are carried out in the college, though for some specialist subjects undergraduates may be sent to supervisors in other colleges. The faculty and academic supervisors associated with the colleges play a very important part in the academic success of students. The college maintains strong ties with Cambridge Judge Business School and has a growing graduate community, including a lively mix of doctoral, medical and PGCE students. The college also maintains an extensive library, which supplements the university libraries.
In 2016[Needs updating], Queens' ranked sixth in the Tompkins Table, which ranks the 29 undergraduate Cambridge colleges according to the academic performance of their undergraduates. Its highest position was second, and its average position was fifth. In 2015, 28.8% of Queens' undergraduates achieved Firsts.[13] However, in 2019 the proportion of Firsts increased to 32.58%.
Student life
The buildings of Queens' College include the chapel, the hall, two libraries, a bar, and common rooms for fellows, graduates and undergraduates. There are also extensive gardens, lawns, a sportsground and boat house. The college also owns its own punts which may be borrowed by students, fellows and staff.
College accommodation is provided for all undergraduate and many graduate students, with the majority of undergraduate accommodation being on the main college site, and all other students usually live in the college residence, Owlstone Croft, located in Newnham village, a fifteen-minute walk from the central site. The college also owns several houses and flats in Cambridge, which are usually occupied by doctoral students and married couples. Members of the college can choose to dine either in the hall, where three-course meals are served and members must wear academic gowns, or in the buttery, where food can be purchased from a cafeteria-style buffet.
Despite being an ancient college, Queens' is known as among the more open and relaxed Cambridge colleges. The college provides facilities to support most sports and arts. Queens' has active student societies, known as the
Queens' has a strong reputation for music and drama, with the Fitzpatrick Hall providing theatre and concert space for students and societies from across the university.
Sports
The college has a rich sporting history, enjoying much success in most of the major sports on offer in Cambridge. It has sports grounds, a boat-house, squash courts and gym.
The college rowing club,
Queens' College Rugby Football Club (QCRFC), plays
The college football club, QCAFC, part of the Cambridge University Association Football League (CUAFL), won the Cuppers knockout cup competition in 2010–11[15] and the CUAFL Premier League title in 2015–16.
Queens' is also traditionally strong in cricket, with QCCC playing their home games on the cricket ground in the Barton Road playing fields.
May Ball
The college hosts a large, lavish
Traditions
College grace
The college grace is customarily said before and after dinner in the hall. The reading of grace before dinner (ante prandium) is usually the duty of a scholar of the college; grace after dinner (post prandium) is said by the President or the senior fellow dining. The grace is said shortly after the fellows enter the hall, signalled by the sounding of a gong. The Ante Prandium is read after the fellows have entered, the Post Prandium after they have finished dining. However, the last grace is almost never used. A simpler English after-dinner grace is now said:
For these and all his mercies, for the queens our foundresses and for our other benefactors, God's holy name be blessed and praised. God preserve our King and Church.
Grace | Latin | English |
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Ante Prandium (Before Dinner) |
Benedic, Domine, nos et dona tua, quae de largitate tua sumus sumpturi, et concede, ut illis salubriter nutriti tibi debitum obsequium praestare valeamus, per Christum Dominum nostrum. | Bless, O Lord, us and your gifts, which from your bounty we are about to receive, and grant that, healthily nourished by them, we may render you due obedience, through Christ our Lord. |
Post Prandium (After Dinner) |
Gratias tibi agimus, sempiterne Deus, quod tam benigne hoc tempore nos pascere dignatus es, benedicentes sanctum nomen tuum pro reginis, fundatricibus nostris caeterisque benefactoribus,quorum beneficiis hic ad pietatem et studia literarum alimur, petimusque ut nos, his donis ad tuam gloriam recte utentes, una cum illis qui in fide Christi decesserunt, ad coelestem vitam perducamur, per Christum Dominum nostrum.
Deus, salvam fac Regem atque Ecclesiam. |
We give you thanks, eternal God, that so kindly at this time you have deigned to feed us, blessing your holy name for the queens, our foundresses, and our other benefactors, by whose benefits we are nourished here towards piety and the study of letters, and we ask that we, rightly using these gifts for your glory, together with those who have died in the faith of Christ, may be brought to the life in heaven, through Christ our Lord.
God preserve the King and Church.[16] |
College rivalry
The college maintains a friendly rivalry with St Catharine's College after the construction of the main court of St Catharine's College on Cambridge's former High Street relegated one side of Queens' College into a back alley.
College stamps
Queens' was one of only three Cambridge colleges (the others being Selwyn and St John's) to issue its own stamps. From 1883 the college issued its own stamps to be sold to members of the college so that they could pre-pay the cost of a college messenger delivering their mail. This was instead of placing charges for deliveries on to members' accounts, to be paid at the end of each term.
The practice was stopped in 1886 by the General Post Office as it was decided that it was in contravention of its monopoly.
Queen Mother's standard
When the college patroness,
Walking on the grass
Unlike at most Oxbridge colleges, not even fellows may walk on the grass.
People associated with the college
Notable former students
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Erasmus, humanist, priest, social critic, teacher, and theologian.
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Edward de Vere, peer and courtier of the Elizabethan era.
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John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury.
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Cambridge University
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Charles Villiers Stanford, Irish composer.
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Abba Eban, Israeli politician.
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Stephen Fry, actor, author and comedian.
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Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh, former Prime Minister of Jordan.
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Michael Foale, a NASA astronaut.
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Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of MI6.
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Prince Salman bin Hamad al Khalifa, Prime Minister of Bahrain.
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Lord Falconer, former Lord Chancellor.
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Paul Greengrass, Oscar-nominated film director and screenwriter.
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Emily Maitlis, a British journalist and newsreader.
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Vuk Jeremić, President of the United Nations General Assembly.
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Suella Braverman, former Home Secretary.
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Hannah Murray, actress
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Luc Frieden, Prime Minister of Luxembourg
Name | Birth | Death | Career | |
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Hugh Oldham | 1452 | 1519 | Bishop of Exeter | |
Desiderius Erasmus
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1466 | 1536 | Humanist, theologian, philosopher | |
John Frith | 1503 | 1533 | Writer, church reformer, martyr | |
John Ponet | 1514 | 1556 | Humanist, reformer, bishop, theologian | |
John Aylmer | 1521 | 1594 | Bishop of London | |
John Whitgift | 1530 | 1604 | Archbishop of Canterbury | |
Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon | 1535 | 1595 | Puritan nobleman and President of the Council of the North
| |
Edward de Vere | 1550 | 1604 | Elizabethan courtier, poet, and playwright | |
Sir Oliver Cromwell | 1566 | 1655 | Landowner, lawyer and member of the House of Commons | |
John Davenant | 1572 | 1641 | Bishop of Salisbury | |
John Hall | 1575 | 1635 | Notable physician, and son-in-law of William Shakespeare | |
Baron Capell of Hadham | 1608 | 1649 | Royalist politician, executed on the orders of parliament | |
Thomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon | 1709 | 1786 | Diplomat and Whig politician
| |
Earl of Hardwicke | 1757 | 1834 | Lord Lieutenant of Ireland | |
Alexander Crummell | 1819 | 1898 | Priest, African nationalist | |
Thomas Nettleship Staley | 1823 | 1898 | First Anglican bishop of the Church of Hawaii | |
Sir James Prendergast | 1826 | 1921 | Chief Justice of New Zealand | |
Osborne Reynolds | 1842 | 1912 | Innovator in the understanding of fluid dynamics, heat transfer | |
Charles Villiers Stanford | 1852 | 1924 | Music composer | |
Sir Charles Herbert Reilly | 1874 | 1948 | Architect and teacher | |
Sir William Peel | 1875 | 1945 | Governor of Hong Kong | |
Frank Rutter | 1876 | 1937 | Art critic, curator, writer, activist | |
Sir Shenton Thomas | 1879 | 1962 | Last Governor of the Straits Settlements
| |
Arnold Spencer-Smith | 1883 | 1916 | Photographer on Shackleton's expedition | |
Tin Tut | 1895 | 1948 | Burma's first Foreign Minister, key negotiator for Burma's independence | |
Sir Roland Penrose | 1900 | 1984 | Artist, historian and poet, major collector of modern art and an associate of the surrealists | |
T. H. White | 1906 | 1964 | Writer, best known for his sequence of Arthurian novels.
| |
Joost de Blank | 1908 | 1968 | Archbishop of Cape Town known as the "scourge of apartheid"
| |
Lesslie Newbigin | 1909 | 1998 | Bishop, missiologist, writer | |
William Ofori Atta | 1910 | 1988 | Ghanaian Foreign Minister | |
Anwar Nusseibeh
|
1913 | 1986 | Jordanian Defense Minister | |
Les Bury | 1913 | 1986 | Australian Foreign Minister | |
Abba Eban | 1915 | 2002 | Israeli Deputy Prime Minister; President of the Weizmann Institute of Science
| |
Sir Michael David Irving Gass | 1916 | 1983 | Colonial Administrator and the acting- 1967 riots
| |
Sir Ronald Halstead | 1927 | 2021 | Businessman, Chairman and Chief Executive of Beecham Group (1984–1985) and Deputy Chairman of British Steel (1986–1994) | |
Kenneth Wedderburn
|
1927 | 2012 | British politician, member of the House of Lords | |
Murray Roston | 1928 | Literary scholar | ||
Stanley Shaldon | 1931 | 2013 | Nephrologist | |
Peter Ball | 1932 | 2019 | Disgraced former Bishop of Gloucester | |
Alan Watkins | 1933 | 2010 | Journalist and political columnist | |
Kevin Billington | 1934 | 2021 | Theatre and film director | |
Upali Wijewardene | 1938 | 1983 | Sri Lankan businessman | |
José Cabranes | 1940 | United States Court of Appeals judge | ||
Bernardo Sepúlveda Amor | 1941 | Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Vice-President of the International Court of Justice | ||
Baron Williams of Mostyn | 1941 | 2003 | Leader of the House of Lords | |
Richard Dearlove | 1945 | Head of MI6 | ||
Lord Eatwell
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1945 | Economist | ||
Neil Lyndon | 1946 | British journalist and writer[17] | ||
Zaki Nusseibeh | 1946 | United Arab Emirates Minister of State | ||
Stephen Lander | 1947 | Head of MI5 | ||
Richard Hickox | 1948 | 2008 | Conductor of choral, orchestral and operatic music | |
Yiannos Papantoniou | 1949 | Greek Finance Minister | ||
Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh
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1950 | Prime Minister of Jordan, Vice-President of the International Court of Justice | ||
John McCallum | 1950 | Academic and Member of the Canadian Parliament | ||
Robin Millar | 1951 | Record Producer and philanthropist | ||
Lord Falconer
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1951 | Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for Justice | ||
Edward Chaplin | 1951 | British Ambassador to Italy
| ||
Asif Saeed Khosa | 1954 | Chief Justice of Pakistan | ||
Paul Greengrass | 1955 | Writer and film director | ||
Gino Costa | 1956 | Peruvian politician and former Interior Minister | ||
Roger Michell | 1956 | 2021 | Theatre and film director | |
Michael Foale | 1957 | Astrophysicist and astronaut | ||
Stephen Fry | 1957 | Comedian, writer, actor, novelist | ||
Mohamed El-Erian
|
1958 | Former CEO of PIMCO, economist and investment analyst | ||
Andrew Bailey | 1959 | Governor of the Bank of England | ||
Kenneth Jeyaretnam | 1959 | Singaporean Opposition Leader | ||
Joanna Scanlan | 1961 | Actress and screenwriter | ||
David Ruffley | 1962 | Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) | ||
Luc Frieden | 1963 | Prime Minister of Luxembourg | ||
Richard K. Morgan | 1965 | British science fiction and fantasy author: Altered Carbon, Broken Angels | ||
Robert Chote | 1968 | Economist; former chair of the Office of Budget Responsibility
| ||
Tom Holland | 1968 | Author and historian | ||
Prince Salman bin Hamad al Khalifa
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1969 | Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain | ||
Stephen Kinnock | 1970 | Danish Prime Minister
| ||
Sam Lotu-Iiga | 1970 | Member of the New Zealand Parliament and Cabinet Member | ||
Emily Maitlis | 1970 | BBC newsreader and journalist | ||
Liz Kendall | 1971 | frontbench politician
| ||
Vuk Jeremić | 1975 | Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs
| ||
Demis Hassabis | 1976 | Founder of DeepMind
| ||
Alexander Kent | 1977 | Geographer and Vice-President of the International Cartographic Association | ||
Khalid Abdalla | 1980 | Actor known for United 93, Kite Runner and Green Zone | ||
Brent Barton | 1980 | Member of Oregon House of Representatives | ||
Suella Braverman | 1980 | Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) and Home Secretary | ||
Mark Watson
|
1980 | Comedian, novelist | ||
Simon Bird | 1984 | Actor in E4 comedy series The Inbetweeners | ||
Julia Lopez | 1984 | Conservative MP | ||
Jamie Roberts | 1986 | Welsh rugby union player | ||
James Maynard | 1987 | Number Theorist and Fields Medal recipient | ||
Hannah Murray | 1989 | Actress in award-winning series Skins and Game of Thrones
|
Presidents
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Saint John Fisher, president of Queens' 1505–1508.
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Herbert Palmer, president of Queens' 1644–1647.
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Anthony Sparrow, president of Queens' 1662–1667.
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Isaac Milner, president of Queens' 1788–1820.
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Joshua King, president of Queens' 1832–1857.
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William Magan Campion, president of Queens' 1892–1896.
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Herbert Ryle, president of Queens' 1896–1901.
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Lord Oxburgh, president of Queens' 1982-1989.
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Sir John Polkinghorne, president of Queens' 1988–1996.
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Lord Eatwell, president of Queens' 1997-2020.
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DrMohamed A. El-Erian, president of Queens' 2020–present.
Royal patronesses
The college enjoyed royal patronage in its early years. Then, after a 425-year break,
Queen Elizabeth II was a patron of the college from 2003 until her death in 2022.
In popular culture
The college has made its way into literature, film and television.
- Darkness at Pemberley (1932 novel) by T. H. White features St Bernard's College, a fictionalised version of Queens' College.
- In 1984, Queens' was the subject of an eight-part BBC fly-on-the-wall documentary entitled Queens': A Cambridge College.[19]
- In the American action-thriller film The Bourne Supremacy (2004), the first of a trilogy featuring Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne character, there are numerous visual cues and oblique references to various Cambridge colleges, but predominantly Queens',[20] where the director Paul Greengrass and one of the producers were both students in the mid-1970s.
- Eskimo Day (1996 TV Drama), written by Jack Rosenthal, and starring Maureen Lipman, Tom Wilkinson, and Alec Guinness, is about the relationship between parents and teenagers during an admissions interview day at Queens' College. There was also a sequel, Cold Enough for Snow (1997).[21]
- Starter for 10 (2006 film) starring James McAvoy includes the filming of a University Challenge episode between Queens' College and Bristol University.
- In Kingdom (2007–2009 TV series), created by Simon Wheeler and Alan Whiting, solicitor Peter Kingdom (played by Stephen Fry) and his brother (Dominic Mafham) are both Cambridge graduates. In the fourth episode of the first series, Kingdom returns to Cambridge and meets his old tutor (Richard Wilson), when one of his clients alleges that her daughter has been rejected by his old college purely because of her working-class background. Although the college is never identified, it is Queens', where Fry himself was a student, that appears on screen.
- Old Hall was used as the backdrop to the music video, Things We Lost in the Fire, by the band Bastille—backing vocals were provided by the College Choir[22]
- The College is the backdrop for the Secret Diary of a Porter Girl blog, created by Lucy Brazier a former deputy head porter.[23][24]
See also
- List of organ scholars
References
- ^ "Chronology – Queens' College". Official website.
- ^ University of Cambridge (6 March 2019). "Notice by the Editor". Cambridge University Reporter. 149 (Special No 5): 1. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Annual report and accounts for 2022-2023" (PDF). Queens' College, Cambridge. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ Walker, Timea (20 January 2022). "Queens' College". www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ "That Apostrophe". Queens' College website. Archived from the original on 27 February 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
- ^ "List of Charters Granted". Privy Council. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
- ^ "Chronology – Queens' College". Official website.
- ^ "The Heraldic Arms - Queens' Collge". Official website.
- ^ "The Heraldic Arms – Queens' College". Official website.
- ^ "President's Lodge". Queens' College. Retrieved 29 January 2009. [dead link]
- ^ "Queen's College". Capturing Cambridge. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
- ^ "Dokett Building History - Queens' College Cambridge". Queens' College, Cambridge. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
- ^ "Tompkins Table 2015: Trinity and Magdalene soar, Lucy Cav sinks". The Tab. 16 July 2015. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016.
- ISBN 9780356153209.
- ^ "Queens' Triumph in Cuppers Final | the Tab Cambridge". Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
- ^ "The Graces". Queens' College Cambridge. Official Website. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
- ^ "Queens' College 1968-1969" (PDF). Queens' College, University of Cambridge.
- ^ "Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon". Official website.
- ^ "Queen's: A Cambridge College". 1 January 2000 – via IMDb.
- ISBN 978-3862651719.
- ^ "Eskimo Day – BBC Four".
- ^ "Things we lost in the fire". YouTube.
- ^ "Secret Diary of PorterGirl".
- ^ "Sex, Drugs and Secrets – Former Queens' Porter dishes dirt on Cambridge | the Tab Cambridge". Archived from the original on 8 March 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.