Prince Charles has celebrated the contribution of female students to life at Oxford University with a visit to one of its celebrated colleges.
Charles toured Somerville College was established 140 years ago as a place for women to study during the late Victorian era when society and academia were against women undergraduates.
His visit also marked 100 years of Oxford degrees for women and the prince met research students from the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development.
Former Prime Minister Margaret thatcher studied at the college as did her Indian counterpart Indira Gandhi, the acclaimed writer Dorothy L Sayers, Nobel Laureate Dorothy Hodgkin and the politician Shirley Williams.
In 1994, the college began admitting men as well as women and today its student population stands at 435 undergraduates and 243 postgraduate students from all over the world.
During the visit Charles chatted to research students from the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development and about their projects.
He was told about the use of satellites to identify areas suitable for sustainable forestry and learnt how another researcher was studying water risks to help cities manage water supplies.
When the prince was introduced to the only man in the group he joked: "They do allow men in!"
