We are deeply saddened by the news from Buckingham Palace that The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral on the afternoon of Thursday 8 September. Our thoughts are with the Royal family at this difficult time, especially with our Chancellor, His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex Prince Edward, on the loss of his mother.
As the UK’s longest reigning monarch, Her Majesty committed a lifetime of service to our nation and commonwealth, as patron to countless charities and head of the Church of England.
The year 2022 marks The Queen’s 70th year as monarch (Platinum Jubilee) – the first time any British monarch has reached this historic milestone.
Vice-Chancellor and President of the University, and Deputy Lieutenant for Somerset , Professor Ian White, said: “As a University we are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Her Royal Highness Her Majesty the Queen.
“I would like to pay tribute to her selfless dedication to our sovereign nations which served as an inspiration to all.
“On behalf of the University, I would like to offer our sincere condolences to the Royal Family at this time of national mourning.”
Her Majesty met with our academics and students several times over the years: visiting the campus with HRH Duke of Edinburgh in 2002 as part of her Golden Jubilee tour; our academics presented their research to her during a Diamond Jubilee visit to Bristol in 2012; and most recently in 2019 learning about our research into reducing horseracing-related injuries as part of a royal visit to Somerset.
The University was honoured by Her Majesty in the Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2012 in recognition of our high impact research into child poverty and support for vulnerable people.
University spin-out company, Bath ASU, received the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise and Innovation in 2019 for its development of technologies that extend the shelf-life of cancer drugs.
Earlier this year, University spin-out CiteAb and Storm Consultancy, which was founded by University of Bath graduates, were both recipients of the Queen's Award for Enterprise, again in the Innovation category.
Books of Condolence will be available; there is one in the Chaplaincy now and another will open from 10am on Monday in the Library Foyer. All members of our community are invited to add their messages of condolence. These books will remain open for messages until the day after the state funeral.