King Charles III and London’s public transport network

London’s transport system has expanded and adapted over the lifetime of King Charles III, formerly the Prince of Wales. He has been present at many of the openings of the major engineering projects that have kept the capital moving through the decades.  

Here we look back on the occasions when Charles visited and travelled on London’s transport network, highlighting objects in our collection associated with these events.
 

The then Prince Charles visited the Brixton extension Victoria Line tunnels in July 1968 at the age of 19, accompanied by the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The Royal visitors donned white boiler suits and hard hats and made their way seventy feet underground to the tunnel face, where they had a quick chat with tunnellers working at the site. 

Prince Charles, who was studying Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge at the time, was said to have been particularly interested to find out what fossils had been found during the tunnelling. 
 

Three years after this visit, Princess Alexandra of Kent attended the official opening of the Brixton extension of the Victoria line on 23 July 1971. The Princess was photographed on the platform at Pimlico Underground station with London Transport staff.

Over a decade later, Prince Charles officially opened the Jubilee line on 30 April 1979. Originally intended to be named the Fleet Line, the name was changed in honour of Queen Elizabeth II’s 1977 Silver Jubilee. 

During the opening celebration, Prince Charles travelled in the cab of a Jubilee line train from Green Park to Charing Cross. After a short stop, the Prince continued his journey to the end of the line at Stanmore. A commemorative headboard, featuring a silver crown, adorned the front of the train for the occasion.

At Charing Cross station, Prince Charles discussed the platform wall murals with David Gentleman, the artist who created them. The mural, created from woodcuts blown up to larger size, illustrates the construction of the original Charing Cross between 1291 and 1294, built by Edward I in memory of his wife, Queen Eleanor of Castile. 

The Royal Wedding of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer took place on 29 July 1981. The ceremony brought London to a standstill as hundreds of thousands of spectators lined the streets hoping to catch a glimpse of the couple. 

London Transport found advertising sponsors for its buses, and a number were repainted with advertising that tied in with the wedding. London Transport also issued special souvenir tickets to commemorate the occasion. 
 

The Prince and Princess of Wales officially opened Heathrow Terminal 4 on 1 April 1986, ahead of the public opening on 12 April of that year. Prince Charles had recently broken, and nearly lost, the tip of his left index finger in a gardening accident, leaving him in a sling for the Royal opening.

Heathrow Terminal 4 Underground station had several unique features. It was constructed as a single one-way loop between the existing Hatton Cross and Heathrow Terminals 2 and 3 stations. It is also one of only four stations on the London Underground with one platform, and the booking hall immediately adjoins the platform for easy access.
 

Croydon Tramlink, opened on 10 May 2000, replaced two local railway lines, which it linked with street tracks through Croydon town centre. Originally run by Tramlink, but now owned by Transport for London (TfL), the tram network has 39 stops along 17 miles of track serving Croydon and surrounding areas of south London.

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall joined passengers travelling by Underground on the Metropolitan line from Farringdon station to King’s Cross on 30 January 2013. The visit marked the 150th anniversary of the London Underground. 

The couple visited Farringdon station, part of the original underground network built in 1863, before meeting London Underground staff and apprentices engaged in building Crossrail and in upgrading the Underground system. Once they reached King’s Cross station, they stopped for a photo opportunity with the Harry Potter attraction Platform 9 ¾. 
 

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall travelled on an electric bus from Clarence House to London Transport Museum on 4 March 2020, marking 20 years of Transport for London.
 

During a tour of the Museum, the couple sat in a 1938 Tube car and recorded a message to be played on the capital’s transport network. Prince Charles unveiled a plaque to commemorate the visit, and the Royal couple were presented with personalised ‘Prince of Wales’ and ‘Duchess of Cornwall’ roundels, as well as speaking to staff.

As can be seen by these occasions, the then Prince Charles witnessed many major developments, openings and anniversaries across London’s public transport, with many more to come as King Charles III.