A Royal Fellow of the Royal Society is a member of the British royal family who has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. The council of the Royal Society recommends members of the Royal Family to be elected and then the existing Fellows vote by a secret ballot whether to accept them. The ballots have only a single box to tick supporting the measure; those opposing have to write "no" or otherwise mark or spoil the paper.[1] As of 2022 the Patron was Queen Elizabeth II, and Royal Fellows were:[2]

  1. King Charles III, elected 1978[3]
  2. Anne, Princess Royal, elected 1987[4]
  3. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, elected 1990[5]
  4. William, Prince of Wales, elected 2009[6]

The British Monarch is always the Patron of the Royal Society, regardless of whether he/she has been previously elected a Royal Fellow. Queen Elizabeth II was elected a Royal Fellow in 1947 before she acceded to the throne in 1952. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was not a Royal Fellow as he was elected under statute 12 in 1951.[7]

Criticism of Royal Fellows

When Prince Andrew was elected in 2013[8] his suitability was questioned following criticism of his past business activities. Some members asked whether it was time for an institution based on science to end the practice of honouring people on the basis of a heredity principle; Professor David Colquhoun FRS said "The objects of the Royal Society are nothing to do with the monarchy, and the monarchy, on the whole, has shown absolutely no interest in science".[9][1] Andrew was later stripped of his military appointments and royal patronages in 2022.[10]

In the past, members of foreign royal families have also been elected Royal Fellows.

Royal Fellows of the Royal Society since 1660

References

  1. 1 2 "Royal Society scientists angered by Prince Andrew's election as fellow". The Guardian. 5 May 2013.
  2. ↑ "Royal Fellows of the Royal Society". The Royal Society. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  3. ↑ "His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales KG KT GCB OM FRS Royal Fellow". London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015.
  4. ↑ "Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal Princess Anne KG KT GCVO GCStJ QSO GCL FRS Royal Fellow". London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015.
  5. ↑ "His Royal Highness Prince Edward, Duke of Kent KG GCMG GCVO ADC(P) FRS Royal Fellow". London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015.
  6. ↑ "His Royal Highness Prince William, Duke of Cambridge KG KT ADC(P) FRS Royal Fellow". London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015.
  7. ↑ "His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh KG Kt OM GBE FRS Statute 12". London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015.
  8. ↑ "His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, Duke of York KG GCVO FRS Royal Fellow". London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "A right Royal cock-up. Prince Andrew elected to the Royal Society". dcscience.net. Archived from the original on 13 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "A statement from Buckingham Palace regarding The Duke of York". The Royal Family. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  11. ↑ "Fellow Details (Ferdinand Albert (1636–1687); Duke of Brunswick)". Library Collection. The Royal Society.
  12. ↑ "Fellow Details (George IV (1762–1830); King of Great Britain and Ireland )". Library Collection. The Royal Society.
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