On 20 November, 2018, the Prince of Wales’ very first visit to the RCA since taking up his role of Royal Visitor in May. The Prince of Wales succeeded his father, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, who was Royal Visitor for 50 years from 1967, the year the Royal Charter was granted by Her Majesty The Queen.

The Prince of Wales was showed a variety of arts, crafts and innovations that are developed in our studios and workshops. His passion for the traditional making skills, training and educational opportunities for young people is well documented and this was a wonderful opportunity for us to demonstrate how we are leading the way in design globally, and embracing new areas of research and innovation.

The Prince of Wales participated in a demonstration of the ‘Hockney Press’, officially known as the John Haddon Etching Press, where he turned the wheel to produce an aquatint. The featured design was a drawing of the press, printed on the press itself by alumna Kristina Chan (MA Print, 2016) to mark the occasion of HRH’s 70th birthday and his first visit to the RCA. We gifted the Prince of Wales with a framed print in honour of his recent milestone birthday. (excerpts from RCA Rector Paul Thompson's address to staff and students, 20.11.2018.)

For more information, please contact Bethany Bull : bethany.bull@rca.ac.uk​