New fellow ceremony - 5 March 2026 - Guest booking (stage 2)

• New Fellows should take their seats in the Dorchester Library promptly at 5:00pm. One guest will proceed to the Dorchester Library Gallery, while any additional guests will be directed to one of our lecture theatres following the sounding of the gong 
•  It is important you sit in the correct seat as you will be called up to the stage in alphabetical order by surname.
• You will be given a briefing before the ceremony begins.
• The ceremony will begin at 5:30pm and we ask that all fellows are punctual as it is difficult to admit anyone once proceedings have commenced.
• Only one adult guest per fellow will be permitted to watch the ceremony from the Dorchester Library gallery.
•  A link will also be made available on the ceremony event page prior to the ceremony so that family and friends can watch from home.

• In stage 1 of the booking process, you’ll be asked to provide the pronunciation of your name to ensure it is read correctly during your ceremony.
• You’ll also need to submit a citation for the registrar to read alongside your name. Please provide your citation in the following format: Dr [First Name Last Name] is a consultant in emergency medicine at Salisbury Hospital with an interest in paediatric EM and research. She is Indian by origin, and her hobbies include painting, reading, chess, and badminton.

• Following the ceremony, we will host a celebratory reception.
• New fellows can attend the reception for free, please select the ticket option "New fellow – attending ceremony + reception".
• All guest tickets include attendance to the celebratory reception. Guest tickets must be pre-booked and paid for in advance. Guest tickets will be available at stage 2 of the booking process.
• Children under 12 are welcome at the reception and are free of charge.
• Please advise us of any dietary requirements at stage 2 of the booking so that these can be accommodated.

• Guest tickets will be available at stage 2 of the booking process. Please see the ticket options tab for pricing information.
• All new fellows are invited to bring a maximum of four guests to watch the ceremony and attend the reception.
• All guests must be pre-registered in advance. We cannot accommodate any additional guests on the day.
• Strictly one guest (aged 12 and over) per new fellow will be able to watch the ceremony from the balcony of the Dorchester Library.
• All other guests will be invited to watch the ceremony via live stream in one of our lecture theatres.

Children

• We welcome all children (aged 1 – 11) to attend both the ceremony and the reception, and they are included in your guest count.
• Children under the age of one are also welcome and will not be included in your guest count.
• There will be a crèche facility provided during the ceremony, however, places are limited and must be pre-booked and paid for in advance during stage 2 of your booking. The crèche will open at 4:30pm and close at 7:30pm. Please see the crèche section in the optional extras tab for more information.
• Due to health and safety children are not permitted to view the ceremony from the Dorchester Library Gallery.

• For the purpose of the ceremony, we will be issuing sample certificates.
• Official certificates are issued by our examinations team via post. If you have not yet received your official certificate, please contact the appropriate team on:
  • Edinburgh College – diplomas@rcpe.ac.uk
  • Glasgow College – paces@rcpsg.ac.uk
  • London College (RCP North - UK candidates only) – paces.queries@rcp.ac.uk
  • London College (Overseas - International candidates only) – overseas.paces@mrcpuk.org

• After you have completed stage 2 of the booking process, you will receive an email containing an attached confirmation letter. This letter can be used to support your/your guests’ visa application.
• Please ensure you provide your guests’ names at stage 2 so that your confirmation letter will contain accurate information.
• Please ensure you check your confirmation of booking email after stage 2 for the auto-attached confirmation letter before contacting us on ceremonies.queries@rcp.ac.uk
• Please also check that the details on your confirmation letter are correct before submitting it to support your application.

• Ceremony and reception - new fellow - £0

• Ceremony and reception - 1 adult guests (12+ years) - £45
• Ceremony and reception - 2 adult guests (12+ years) - £90
• Ceremony and reception - 3 adult guests (12+ years) - £135
• Ceremony and reception - 4 adult guest (12+ years) - £180

•       Ceremony and reception (1-11 years old) - £0

• We are pleased to be able to offer a crèche facility during the ceremony.
• Crèche places are limited and must be booked in advance, which will be possible in stage 2.
• The crèche will open at 4:30pm and will close at 7:30pm for children from 6 months to 8 years.
• The crèche is run by experienced staff from Pop Up, Party and Play who will care for and entertain your children.
• Please add your child's name, age, any allergies and accessibility needs in the access requirements box during the stage 2 booking process.
• The crèche costs £35 per child. Payments must be paid in advance.
• Children placed in the crèche who are over the age of 1 are included in the four-guest maximum.
• The crèche will not be open during the celebratory reception. 

• On the day of the ceremony, you will have the opportunity to have professional photos taken to commemorate your membership.
• The photography service will be run by Tempest.
• Pre-booking is not required – just pop in before your ceremony and the staff from Tempest will be able to assist you.
• Photography will open at 3:30pm and will take place in the Council Chamber.
• Tempest will take a photograph of each new member receiving their certificate from the president.
• To purchase your photos, payment must be paid to Tempest at the time.
• For more information or any queries relating to photography please contact Tempest Graduation on 01736 751 855.

• Gowns for the ceremony can be hired through Tempest at the cost of £45.
• It is recommended that members book and pay for their gown hire in advance of their ceremony, however Tempest will bring some spares for hire on the day.
• Gowns can be reserved via the Tempest website from approximately 1-2 weeks before the ceremony. You will need to provide your RCP code to secure your reservation.
• Please note that it is not compulsory to wear a gown, although many members do choose to.
• Gowns will need to be returned to the Linacre room ahead of the reception and leaving the premises.
• For more information or any queries relating to gowning please contact Tempest Graduation by email info@graduategowning.co.uk or by phone 01736 751 855.

• We will be offering members and their guests the opportunity to be taken on a heritage and exhibition tour, guided by the Archive and Museum Services team.
• Pre-booking is not required – please arrive 5 minutes before the time you wish to attend to join in on the tour.
• Tour times will be clearly advertised around the venue on the day of the ceremony. 

• All complete and eligible bookings will trigger a confirmation email to be sent to the email address inputted during booking. Please allow a few minutes to receive the email and ensure to check your junk folder if it has not appeared in your main inbox.
• Confirmed bookings will also appear in your 'my bookings' area of your MyRCP portal.
• If your booking is not displayed in your portal, please contact us on ceremonies.queries@rcp.ac.uk immediately, as your booking may not have been completed.
• We recommend that you do not book travel and accommodation until after you have received confirmation for your booking. 

• You can email us on ceremonies.queries@rcp.ac.uk to make changes up until 10 days prior to the ceremony date.

• Unfortunately, we are unable to exceed 4 guests per new fellow at our ceremonies. This is due to capacity and safety restrictions but also to ensure fairness among our members.
• All ceremonies will be available via live stream so friends and family can watch live at home.

• Each new fellow may bring a maximum of four guests.
• Guest booking will be possible from stage 2, a link for which will be sent to you approximately three months prior to your ceremony.
• If, after stage 2, you have not already filled these spaces and you wish to add someone, please email ceremonies.queries@rcp.ac.uk and include the name(s) of the guest(s) you would like to bring, alongside any dietary requirements, if applicable.
• If any of the extra guests are children, please let us know, alongside whether you would like to book them into the crèche.
• Guest ticket prices can be found in the ticket options tab.

• The ceremony will be live streamed and recorded and made available online after the ceremony.
•  You can find this recording on the event page under the 'watch the ceremony' tab.

• There are a range of hotels in close proximity to the Royal College of Physicians London. The closest include:
  • William Harvey House
  • Meliá White House
  • Holiday Inn Regent’s Park
  • Radisson Blu Grafton Hotel
  • Fitztrovia Hotel

• If the ceremony you would like to attend is fully booked you can join the waitlist.
• If we receive a cancellation and a space becomes available, we will get in touch via email to offer you the place.
• Alternatively, you can register your interest in attending a ceremony in 2027 in order to receive notification when booking does become available (we expect this to be September 2026). Please complete this form to be on the list.

• You can register your interest in attending a ceremony in 2027 in order to receive notification when booking does become available (we expect this to be September 2026). Please complete this form to be on the list. 

• After you have completed stage 2 of the booking process, you will receive an email containing an attached confirmation letter. This letter can be used to support your/your guests’ visa application.
• Please ensure you provide your guests’ names at stage 2 so that your confirmation letter will contain accurate information.
• Please ensure you check your confirmation of booking email after stage 2 for the auto-attached confirmation letter before contacting us on ceremonies.queries@rcp.ac.uk.
• If your guestlist changes, please email the above address to request that we reissue your letter.

• The opportunity to hire a gown for your ceremony will be provided by Tempest, at the cost of £45.
• You can find more information about gown hire in the optional extras tab.
• For further information or any queries relating to gowning please contact Tempest Graduation by email info@graduategowning.co.uk or by phone 01736 751 855.

• There is no formal dress code for our ceremony.
• New members have the option to hire a gown on the day through Tempest, however it is not mandatory to do so.
• We recommend that guests dress in smart/business wear, though you may prefer to wear black tie or traditional dress.

• Heritage tours and seasonal garden tours will be advertised clearly in the venue on the day of your ceremony. There is no need to book a place, just arrive 5 minutes before the tour that you wish to attend.
• Tour meeting points will be clearly advertised around the venue.
• Garden tours will only take place from March to October.

• All of our bookings are recorded and managed digitally, and so physical tickets will not be issued.

• All photos in previous years, including individual portraits and photo with the RCP President, were taken by Tempest.
• You should be able to purchase any photos that weren’t paid for on the day via their website.
• If you wish to speak with Tempest directly you can call them on 01736 751555 or place an enquiry via their website.
• The group photo in the ceremony hall with all new members will be sent to you in a post-ceremony email.

• If you would like to cancel your booking, please review our cancellation policy below and then email us at ceremonies.queries@rcp.ac.uk to let us know how you wish to proceed.
• Cancellations and requests to amend your confirmed booking must be made in writing.  
• Where fees have been paid, the following cancellation charges will apply:

Updated: 1 September 2025