HRH The Princess Royal admitted as Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Dental Surgery
30 Oct 2018
Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal visited the Royal College of Surgeons on Thursday, 25 October 2018 to be presented with an Honorary Fellowship of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons (FDS).
The Princess Royal received an Honorary Fellowship of the FDS in March 2017 to coincide with the Faculty’s 70th Anniversary.
While visiting the College, The Princess Royal met with FDS Board Members, Past Deans and other senior stakeholders within the Faculty of Dental Surgery, and unveiled a commemorative stone to mark the start of construction of the new RCS building. The stone will be set into the new building, which is due to be completed in 2020.
The citation for Her Royal Highness was read by Professor Nigel Hunt OBE, Immediate Past Dean of the FDS, and the award was conferred and by current FDS Dean, Professor Michael Escudier. An extract of the citation is published below:
“Her Royal Highness is no stranger to medical royal Colleges; she is an Honorary Fellow of this College and a Royal Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, as well as being an Honorary Fellow and Patron of other Colleges and Faculties.
These roles complement her considerable commitment to, and involvement with, over 300 charitable bodies and organisations, both in the UK and further afield. However, The Princess’s commitment to children and healthcare organisations is of particular note. Her sphere of influence here is extensive and includes: The Blond McIndoe Research Foundation for plastic and reconstructive surgery; The Nuffield Trust; Medical Research, Scotland; the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit; the Motor Neurone Disease Association, and Swinfen Telemedicine which gives specialist advice to healthcare workers in remote parts of the world.
Most importantly, The Princess has been President of ‘Save the Children’ since 1970, a non-governmental organisation that lists amongst its many aims, “to improve the lives of children in the toughest parts of the world, including the UK, through reducing inequalities and providing a better education and healthcare”. In 2017 alone, this vital work helped over 13 million children throughout the world.
This Faculty shares The Princess Royal’s concerns for children’s health. Over the past 4 years, we have focused specifically on increasing the awareness of the inequalities in oral health in areas of social deprivation and especially the shocking and unacceptable levels of dental decay in young children in England.
More recently, our Faculty has also drawn attention to the need for improved healthcare for the elderly, especially those needing long-term care. The Princess has been closely involved with the creation of several charities, notably The Princess Royal’s Trust for Carers, or the Carers Trust as it is now known, which was created in 1991 to provide support, help and advice for the millions of individuals in the UK who are responsible for caring for someone.
Her Royal Highness’s long standing engagement with organisations and charities that aim to better the world we live in, is a real dimension of her interest in, sympathy with, and love of others.”