Royal Holloway University of London

Royal Holloway College was founded by the Victorian entrepreneur and philanthropist Thomas Holloway in 1886. The self-made multi-millionaire made his fortune in patent medicines and, after initiating a public debate inviting suggestions as to ‘how best to spend a quarter of a million pounds or more’, he took his wife’s advice that a college for women would prove ‘the greatest public good’. Royal Holloway College, largely inspired by the Chateau Chambord in the Loire Valley, was opened by Queen Victoria in 1886. The Founder’s Building, which is built around two quadrangles and includes a beautiful gilded chapel and picture gallery, is one of the most spectacular university buildings in the world. Royal Holloway is one of the UK’s leading research-intensive universities, with 19 academic departments spanning the arts and humanities, sciences, social sciences, management and economics. As the UK's most international university, we combine world-class research with a global perspective, yet at the same time, our campus has an intimate human scale. This means our students learn from internationally renowned academics and researchers while also being known by name themselves.