October 28, 2011
The Queen is Patron
The Queen to be the Patron of the Magna Carta Trust for 800th Anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta.
The Magna Carta Trust is delighted to confirm that Her Majesty has kindly agreed to become its Patron. The commemoration of the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta will take place at Runnymede on 15th June 2015.
Announcing the news as Her Majesty addresses the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference in Perth, Australia, the Trustees stated that they were “greatly honoured that Her Majesty has agreed to be the Patron”, and confirmed that this will be a major boost to their plans to celebrate the anniversary in democracies around the world.
The Chairman of the Magna Carta Trust, Rt Hon the Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, the Master of the Rolls, welcomed the announcement on behalf of the Trust, which includes the Charter Towns and their mayors. “On behalf of the Trustees, I am very proud that The Queen has graciously agreed to be our Patron as we approach the 800th Anniversary of this momentous day in British history, the sealing of the Magna Carta”, he said.
At the Trust’s meeting on 19th October, the Trust also announced that Sir Robert Worcester KBE DL would become Deputy Chairman of the Trust, alongside his role as Chairman of the 800th Anniversary Committee.
The Trust has an organising committee of volunteers which has been meeting since 2010, chaired by Sir Robert Worcester. The committee organised a launch event on 12th November 2010 at the American Bar Association memorial on Runnymede Meadows, and later at Royal Holloway University of London, which was hosted by Lord Neuberger, with guest speakers including the Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke QC MP, Lord Chancellor, and the Rt Hon Lord McNally, Minister of Justice, The Dean of Canterbury Cathedral the Very Rev Robert Willis, and the Treasurer of the American Bar Association.
“This is very exciting news for the volunteers who are already busy organising these celebrations”, said Sir Robert, “and will help us enormously as we work with sponsors, ambassadors, academics, lawyers and Parliamentarians to organise this 800th anniversary year around the world in 2015.”
A bid has also been made for this day to become a public holiday. On 7th September the first step toward securing 15th June 2015 as a bank holiday, to be called ‘Magna Carta Day’ was made when Eleanor Laing MP, Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Magna Carta presented a Ten Minute Rule Bill, which was supported unanimously by the House of Commons.
The Trust has this week also launched a dynamic new website which will spearhead the 800th anniversary celebrations, and can be found at www.magnacarta800th.com.
ENDS
For further information please contact Nick Wood-Dow on 0207 939 7939 or 07713 681322.
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