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Thursday, 21 March 2002
In accordance with Grace 1 of 30 January 2002, an Address to Her Majesty the Queen was presented at Buckingham Palace by the Chancellor of the University.
The deputation which accompanied the Chancellor consisted of the Vice-Chancellor, the Orator, the Registrary, the Senior Proctor, the Junior Proctor, and the following members of the Senate nominated by the Vice-Chancellor: the Pro-Vice-Chancellors, the Master of Sidney Sussex College, and the Principal of Newnham College. The Esquire Bedells were also in attendance. The text of the address was as follows:
May it please Your Majesty:
The latest of four sovereigns in a millennium to celebrate a Golden Jubilee was your great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria; she alone, whose husband also was our Chancellor, might fairly claim to have witnessed as much change in her reign as you have in yours. These congratulations come from a university a little over half as old as English monarchy itself; we are the same university at which your father studied and at which your mother was the first woman to receive a degree, and yet we are also mightily transformed. We doubt not that your two sons Charles and Edward who studied here can tell you of their times and experiences; likewise your husband our Chancellor for more than half your reign; and you yourself have marked with your own presence notable moments in our progress and development, in opening first our Veterinary School in 1955, then the first phase of the new Addenbrooke's hospital in 1962, then our Press building in the year of your Silver Jubilee, and more recently the new Law building together with the Judge Institute of Management in 1994; and there have been many more private occasions which you have graced with your presence to our joy.
In our unchanging mission to discover and to teach we take strength from that unfailing commitment of yours affirmed in your coronation oath to serve your people everywhere.
We the Vice-Chancellor, Masters, and Scholars of the University of Cambridge give thanks for the diligence, strength, and wisdom of your reign.
25 February 2002
After the Address had been presented, Her Majesty made the following gracious reply to the Privileged Bodies present:
It is rare to have so many distinguished bodies represented together on one occasion. I am pleased that by long-held tradition you come here to present your addresses on the occasion of my Golden Jubilee.
To the religious and spiritual bodies here, I give my wholehearted support to your determination to work for: a just and peaceful society; greater unity among all the Christian Churches; better understanding between Christians and people of other faiths; and the improvement of relations between all peoples.
You have voiced your determination to strive for tolerance, freedom and truth and to reach out to all, especially the poor, the isolated and the disadvantaged. It gives me hope for the future that you will continue to support the spiritual life of this nation in this way.
In education, science and the arts you have, rightly, referred to the importance of: instilling a sense of duty and service in successive generations; searching for truth through teaching, scholarship and scientific enquiry; encouraging a spirit of learning and excellence, and promoting science and technology, architecture and the fine arts.
And there are many civic and other bodies represented today. You all, in different ways, demonstrate how individuals can work together to serve their communities and this nation.
I congratulate all of you on the contribution you have made to our Nation over the last 50 years, and applaud your determination to continue your good works. Privileged Bodies are held in great respect, not just in this country but throughout the world, and you represent a hope for the future securely grounded in experience of the past. You represent a long history of merit, excellence and service.
I am grateful for the warmth and generosity of the tributes given today, for your renewed assurances of loyalty and affection, and for your prayers on behalf of Prince Philip and myself. Your support will sustain us in the future as it has done in the past.
T. J. MEAD, Registrary
END OF THE OFFICIAL PART OF THE 'REPORTER'
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Cambridge University Reporter, 29 May 2002
Copyright © 2002 The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge.