Royal College Class of ’72 celebrates Golden anniversary in grand style

It was an explosion of Blue & Gold at the Monarch Imperial, Thalawathugoda, on 12 March, when Royal College Class of ’72 celebrated its Golden anniversary in grand style.

The ceremonial meeting honoured Royal College Principal Sanath Jayalath, Chief Guest Jagath Fernando, and Royal College Union Secretary Colonel Dr. Hiran Wimalaratne. They were received by Royal College Class of ’72 President Mahinda Jinasena. A ceremonial welcome with bag pipers ushered the dignitaries to the hall that had a full attendance, arranged according to the COVID protocol.

The nostalgic setting with a walk through the replica of the Boake Memorial Gates, with a backdrop of the majestic building of Royal College Colombo, was the perfect setting to a grand Golden Jubilee celebration. 

Royal College Class of ’72 is the largest batch with 850 students, and the first Old Royalists’ Association to receive a Charter, which was conferred in 1987. The theme of the Golden Jubilee celebration was the ‘Strength of Unity in Diversity.’ The undying brotherhood of Old Royalists from Sinhala, Tamil and English streams of education at Royal College was showcased as the reason for producing model citizens of Sri Lanka. 

A colourful awards ceremony saw all the past presidents of the Royal College Class of ‘72 being recognised in right Royal style.

For the first time in the history of Royal College Alumni, a unity song entitled ‘Forever Loyal to Royal,’ which was composed in all three languages, especially for the Golden Jubilee, was sung as part of the ceremonial meeting.

The gala celebrations continued with a dinner dance, and the musical group Black was in attendance to keep the spirit of celebration going till the wee hours of the morning, making it a once-in-a-lifetime event for old Royalists of the Class of ‘72 and their families and friends 

– Pix by Ruwan Walpola –