History and overview
The Queen’s Anniversary Prizes are part of the UK national honours system, recognising at the highest level of state outstanding work in UK universities and colleges.
The Prizes are open to eligible universities and colleges of higher and further education in the United Kingdom, and may be awarded for any topic or subject area which fulfils the criteria for the award: excellence, innovation and well-evidenced benefit for the institution itself and the wider world.
Over the past 30 years, Prizes have been awarded across a wide range of disciplines – arts and humanities, business and the economy, education, health and medicine, engineering and manufacturing, environment and conservation, pure and applied science, and social sciences. Uniquely, the Prizes recognise not only the team behind the award-winning work, but the institution as a whole.
The Prize is a national honour.
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The creation of the Queen’s Anniversary Prizes was announced in Parliament in 1993 by then Prime Minister, Sir John Major, with Queen Elizabeth II’s consent and with all-party support. First awarded in 1994, the Prizes are granted every two years by the Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister following a rigorous, independent process of review managed by the Royal Anniversary Trust. The Prizes are presented by a senior member of the Royal Family at an investiture ceremony traditionally held at Buckingham Palace.
The Trust remembers with gratitude the guiding hand of Queen Elizabeth II in creating and supporting these unique awards and is grateful to Their Majesties The King and Queen for their continued patronage.
The Prizes cycle
The Queen’s Anniversary Prizes scheme runs on a two-year cycle. Round 16 (2024-2026) will open for applications on 30th October, 2024. Detailed information on how to enter can be found in How to apply.
Entries are assessed in a rigorous, independent process of review managed by the Royal Anniversary Trust, which takes several months and involves consultation with experts, specialists and professional organisations in the public and non-governmental sectors. A shortlist is considered by members of the Trust’s expert Higher and Further Education Panels, before the Trust’s Awards Council arrives at its final recommendations. The Council then sends a list of institutions recommended for an award to the Prime Minister for advice before the final list is presented to the Monarch for approval.
The Prize-winners are formally announced at a reception, usually held St James’s Palace; in Round 16, this will be in November 2025. Prize-winners are then presented with the award by a senior member of the Royal Family at a ceremony traditionally held at Buckingham Palace. This event is customarily held in the February following the Prizes announcement.
