Official Royal Visits

Marlborough – the College and the town – have been honoured with several official royal visits over the years. The visit by Their Majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1948 was the first and only visit to the College by a reigning King and Queen and was to mark the Centenary of the founding of the College which had been delayed by the war. In 1974, HRH Princess Anne and her husband Captain Mark Phillips (C3 1962-66) had an extensive tour of the College and planted a red oak tree on Leaf Block lawn. His Majesty King Charles, then Prince of Wales, visited in 2004 on the significant occasion of the 800th anniversary of the granting of the town’s Royal Charter by King John which authorised the summer fair and twice weekly markets that still persist today. HRH Princess Eugenie (MM 2003-08) officially re-opened the Memorial Hall in 2018 following its extensive refurbishment.

We are delighted to share more information and a gallery of images from each visit below.