Roscoe latest: 'Working for the Royals'

The Roscoe lecture returned to campus this week with His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant Mark Blundell ESQ CVO delivering his lecture on ‘Working for the Royals.’ 

The lecture reflected on the place of the Monarchy today in our national life, and covered some of the highlights of Mark’s wide-ranging role including royal visits and involvement with many aspects of civic life.

About His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant Mark Blundell 

Mark Blundell has represented the Monarchy as Lord-Lieutenant of Merseyside since 2017 and will retire at the end of 2025. He was made a commander of the Royal Victorian Order in The King’s Birthday Honours List in June 2025.  

Presentation of the Liver bird 

Following the lecture Mark Blundell was presented with a bespoke Liver bird statue, created by Emma Rogers and made in our Fab Lab 3D studio.  

This was presented by Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mark Power, alongside Honorary Fellow John Flamson who chaired the event and LJMU Marketing graduate, Cameron Cole Askew.  

Cameron who recently completed an internship with the Mersey Lieutenancy, worked for the office and applied his strategic skills in a real-world setting by offering recommendations for communications and marketing and how to increase the Merseyside Lieutenancy's online presence. 

Peter Oliver, OBE, DL, has been appointed as His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of the County of Merseyside on the retirement of Mark Blundell later this month and was also present at the lecture and presentation. 

200 years of the Liverpool School of Art 

The lecture took place on LJMU campus in the John Lennon Art and Design Building. 

Attendees at the lecture were invited to view an exhibition created by LJMU students to mark 200 years of the Liverpool School of Art. The exhibition, curated by students, profiled a number of LJMU Honorary Fellows featuring their gowns. The bespoke gowns were designed and created by the fashion department from the 1990s to 2010.

About the Roscoe Lecture

Beginning in Liverpool, in 1997, the Roscoe Lecture series quickly became one of the largest public speaking events in the country with, guests ranging from heads of state to comedians and civil rights campaigners to explorers of both our planet and the universe. Never less than thought-provoking and entertaining, the Roscoe events have continued over the past 25 years as the university’s contribution to the civic life of the city, with more than 130,000 people attending, since 1997.

Speakers over the years have included the King, the Dalai Lama, journalist Jeremy Paxman, Ken Dodd, ChildLine founder Esther Rantzen, Paralympian Dame Tanni Grey Thompson, the Presidents of Ireland and Ghana, and Nisha Katona, Chancellor of LJMU.   

Watch the lecture 

You can watch His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant Mark Blundell ESQ CVO on ‘Working for the Royals.’ 

Find out more about the Roscoe  

You can find out more about LJMU’s Roscoe Lectures here.