Queen bestows Regius Professorship on Royal Holloway

The music department at a university in Surrey has been awarded a prestigious professorship by the Queen.

The Royal Holloway, in Egham, which is part of the University of London, has been recognised as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

It is one of 12 across the UK which will be able to assign the title Regius Professor to one of its professors.

Only two of the professorships have previously been created in the past century.

Professor Julian Johnson, who is the head of music at the Royal Holloway, said it was a "great honour" to have the title bestowed upon the department.

"It is wonderful to hear that the quality of our teaching and research has been recognised in this way," he said.