Queen to visit ‘diamond light source’

4:35pm Tuesday 9th October 2007

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The Queen will visit Oxfordshire next week - to find out more about a £260m new scientific instrument.

She will officially open the Diamond Light Source 'super microscope', at Harwell, near Didcot, in a ceremony to be attended by more than 500 guests.

'The tours we have planned will give the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh the chance to see personally how Diamond works and what kind of scientific experiments the facility is capable of doing'

Gerd Materlik

Her Majesty will be accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh for the trip.

Next Friday's visit will see the Royal couple tour the synchrotron machine - a scientific instrument more than half a kilometre in circumference and covering an area more than three times the footprint of Buckingham Palace.

The Queen and the Duke will meet many of the staff, scientists, engineers and technicians. They will learn how the powerful light is used to develop new drugs to combat diseases such as cancer, malaria and HIV, to the preservation of important historical artefacts, such as the Tudor warship, the Mary Rose.

The Queen will unveil a sculpture and plaque commissioned by sculptor Paula Groves to mark the official launch of the facility, which represents the largest investment in UK science for more than 40 years.

She will also be treated to a parachute display by the British Army Parachute Regiment display team, the Red Devils, watched by the guests and schoolchildren from Chilton Primary School.

Gerd Materlik, Diamond's chief executive, said: "It is a huge honour for Diamond to have Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh visit to mark our official opening.

"The tours we have planned will give the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh the chance to see personally how Diamond works and what kind of scientific experiments the facility is capable of doing.

"For the UK, Diamond's opening means researchers now have a state-of-the-art experimental tool that will enable fantastic science to happen over the next 30 years."