A royal visit to London Zoo in 2016 completed a circle that had begun 40 years earlier. According to the Zoological Society of London, Queen Elizabeth II opened the Lion Terraces at London Zoo in 1976, then returned in 2016, during her 90th birthday year, to open Land of the Lions, a new conservation breeding centre for Asiatic lions, alongside the then Duke of Edinburgh. ZSL described the 2016 visit as completing a circle of royal engagement spanning decades. The Zoological Society of London, founded in 1826, has maintained close connections with the British Royal Family throughout its history, with the reigning monarch serving as its Royal Patron since the time of William IV.
ZSL and the royal family: 2 centuries of royal connections at London Zoo
The relationship dates back to the Society’s earliest years. King George IV granted ZSL its Royal Charter on 27 March 1829, establishing it as an institution of national importance. In 1831, William IV, ZSL’s first official Royal Patron, offered to move the Royal Menagerie from the Tower of London, giving the animals a new home at the Society’s scientific zoo. London Zoo had opened in Regent’s Park in 1828 and was initially accessible only to ZSL Fellows before eventually opening to the public in 1847.Queen Elizabeth II first visited London Zoo as a child in 1938 with Princess Margaret. After becoming Queen, she returned repeatedly during her 70-year reign. ZSL records visits including her 1976 opening of the Lion Terraces, her 1990 opening of the Lifewatch Centre, and her 1999 opening of the Millennium Conservation Centre. In 2016, she and Prince Philip returned to open Land of the Lions, linking her later visit directly to the lion habitat she had opened 4 decades earlier.
Queen Elizabeth’s visits to London Zoo: from the Lion Terraces in 1976 to Land of the Lions in 2016
Other members of the Royal Family also played significant roles in ZSL’s history. Prince Philip, the former Duke of Edinburgh, served as ZSL President from 1960 to 1977 and was instrumental in the establishment of the Institute of Zoology, the Society’s scientific research division. He remained an Honorary Fellow from 1977 until his death in 2021. Lord Snowdon, the former husband of Princess Margaret, also left a lasting mark on London Zoo through the Snowdon Aviary. Opened in 1965, it was Britain’s first walk-through aviary and was designed by Snowdon with architect Cedric Price and structural engineer Frank Newby. The pioneering structure used aluminium and tension-based engineering and rose to 24 metres at its highest points. ZSL says legend has it that Snowdon incorporated a secret tribute to Princess Margaret into the design, with the walkway forming the shape of an “M” for Margaret when viewed from above. The former aviary has since been restored and reimagined as Monkey Valley, a home for eastern black-and-white colobus monkeys.
Prince Philip, Lord Snowdon and King Charles: other royal links to London Zoo and Whipsnade
Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II also opened Whipsnade Zoo’s Centre for Elephant Care in 2017. ZSL describes the visit as one of Prince Philip’s final public engagements. The royal connection continued with King Charles III, who first visited London Zoo at 1 year old to see Brumas, a newborn polar bear cub. He returned several times as a child, including when he was about 5, to visit the former Pets Corner, now Animal Adventure. At age 13, he joined ZSL’s Exceptional Young Zoologist Club, which was created to encourage children’s interest in zoology. His Majesty’s Patronage of ZSL was announced in May 2024, continuing the tradition of the reigning monarch serving as the Society’s Royal Patron.On 9 July 2026, King Charles III and Queen Camilla visited London Zoo to mark ZSL’s 200th anniversary. The visit was Charles’s first official engagement as ZSL’s Patron and Queen Camilla’s first official visit to the Society. Their Majesties met conservationists, scientists, veterinarians, educators and animal-care experts during the visit. From William IV’s early patronage and the Royal Family’s visits to London Zoo to Queen Elizabeth II’s 1976 and 2016 lion openings and King Charles III’s 2026 bicentenary visit, the relationship between ZSL and the British Royal Family has spanned 2 centuries.
