H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco was in London to visit Ardingly College and attend the Scott Polar Institute Dinner

H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco visited London in order to launch a solar vehicle at Ardingly College and to attend the Dinner hosted by the Scott Polar Institute. He was accompanied by H.E. Mrs Evelyne Genta and H.E. Mr Fautrier.

Ardingly College is a renowned boarding and day independent school located in West Sussex and is regularly positioned amongst the top ten International Baccalaureate schools in the United Kingdom. Dr Andrew Spiers, the leader of the Ardingly Solar Car team and Mrs Marie de Jouffroy d’Abbans, the Solar Car Project’s Head of external relations both welcomed H.S.H. Prince Albert at Ardingly College. The participants then gathered for a luncheon in the Senior Common Room which was followed by the launch of the solar vehicle of the Solar Car project. The project consists of a dedicated solar car workshop of Ardingly College students which aims to design and build a Solar Car Mark II incorporating the latest technologies of solar panels as sole source of energy.

In 2015, Ardingly College founded the first team of schoolchildren in Europe to design, build and race a solar-powered electric vehicle for more than 3,000km. The Solar car, which is sponsored by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, was presented to His Highness who was able to test it. H.S.H. Prince Albert then talked to the students and the teachers while they showed Him around the College’s premises.

That evening, His Highness attended the Scott Polar Institute Dinner of which He is the Patron. H.S.H. Prince Albert was welcomed by Professor Julian Dowdeswell, Director of the Scott Polar Research Institute and Glaciers and ice caps expert of which he studies the formation and response to climate change. Founded in 1920, the Institute is a national memorial to Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his companions, who died on their return journey from the South Pole in 1912.

As part of the University of Cambridge, the Scott Polar Research Institute is a center of excellence in the study of the Arctic and Antarctic and in particular glaciology, glacimarine studies and the diverse polar landscapes. The Institute also houses the World's premier Polar Library and a Polar Museum which displays the history and the significance of the Arctic and Antarctic and their surrounding seas. The Institute exhibited pictures of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, the great British explorer and also just published a book on his expeditions.

The Scott Polar Institute Dinner was an opportunity to meet new potential sponsors. After the Dinner, His Highness gave a speech. H.S.H. Prince Albert mentioned that he would like to come back to the University of Cambridge in order to visit the new premises of the Scott Polar Institute once they will have been refurbished.