Duchess Sophie’s Visit ‘a Memorable Day’ for University of Surrey Students

Published on: 29 Jan, 2026
Updated on: 29 Jan, 2026

The Duchess of Edinburgh looking at a picture of the late Queen Elizabeth II when she visited the University of Surrey in 1998.

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, visited the University of Surrey this week (January 28) to celebrate the University’s innovation, research and hands on learning. She met students and staff from across the campus, gaining insight into Surrey’s multidisciplinary approach to education.

Her tour of the University included a visit to the Surrey Space Centre where – joined by the University’s Chancellor, The Duke of Kent – she toured labs to see a student-designed satellite deploy pod which will push a payload from a rocket into space.

At the Space Centre, the Duchess visited the satellite clean room toured by the late Queen in 1998. In the clean room, the Duchess helped to fit a panel engraved with Their Royal Highnesses’ Royal Cyphers to Jovian-1, a satellite which Surrey students helped develop.

Since its founding in 1979, the space centre has been a leading space engineering hub and is widely seen as the birthplace of the small satellite revolution.

The Duchess of Edinburgh with medical school students.

Medical students met the Duchess to demonstrate the collaborative training that will shape their careers in the NHS. She returned to the University’s Kate Granger Building six years after she opened it as the home of its School of Health Sciences. The Duchess met some of the University’s first cohort of UK government-funded medical students, who began their studies in September 2025.

Duchess Sophie also met medical, nursing, midwifery and paramedic students learning together in the collaborative training wards before joining a virtual reality anatomy teaching session.

Schoolchildren who took part in the University’s widening participation summer schools returned to campus to show off the hands-on STEM projects they enjoyed last year.

Students from the University’s Engineering Design Centre also had the opportunity to show the Duke of Kent a range of projects, including rocket designs and Formula E racing cars.

The Duke of Kent meets engineering students

Professor Stephen Jarvis, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Surrey, said: “Training medical students alongside nursing, midwifery and paramedic students reflects how the NHS operates in practice.

“Our students graduate already equipped to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams, rather than having to learn this solely once they enter the workplace. The Duchess saw this first-hand in our training wards, where students from different disciplines learn together in realistic clinical settings.

The Duchess of Edinburgh with the new Vice Chancellor of the University of Surrey, Professor Stephen Jarvis.

“Her Royal Highness also saw our engineering students working on satellites they have designed and built themselves – hardware that will ultimately be launched into orbit. That combination of world-class research and practical, employer-ready skills lies at the heart of what we do.

“For our students, whether still studying or already well into their careers, having two members of the Royal Family witness this work first-hand is an experience they will long remember. It was a truly memorable day for our entire community.”

Patrick Degg, Vice-President, Global at the University of Surrey, said: “We thank both The Duchess of Edinburgh and The Duke of Kent for their continued support for Surrey.

“The Duke has served as our Chancellor since June 1976. To have him return in this 50th year of his Chancellorship alongside The Duchess, and for them both to see the breadth of the research and teaching Surrey delivers has been a moment of collective pride.”