page_title: King's College London Students' Union
section_title: Mascot
hierarchical_section_title: King's College London Students' Union / Mascot
context_page_description: King's College London Students' Union is an independent charitable organisation existing solely to further the interests of its members and govern over the more than 300 student societies and activity groups at King's. KCLSU claims to be the oldest students' union in England.
  The Strategic Plan that defines the mission of KCLSU is "together we are a union of students where individuals connect, have fun, build communities, share experiences and make change".
context_section_description: KCLSU's official mascot is Reggie the Lion. In his early years, he would often be paraded on sports grounds by teams to support matches. There are at least four official "Reggies" in existence: the original, on display in KCLSU's Student Centre at the Strand Campus, a papier-mâché Reggie outside the Great Hall at the Strand Campus (pictured), a miniature display Reggie outside Willie's Common Room in the East Wing of Somerset House, and a small sterling silver incarnation displayed during graduation ceremonies. In 2003-04 he celebrated his 80th birthday, which was celebrated by a reunion of students' union officers from years past. In September 2009 the crown from the papier-mâché Reggie in the Strand Campus was stolen by first year Medical students from RUMS and is now housed in the bar of the Huntley Street Union.
  Being such an easily liftable mascot that was often seen in public, Reggie was an obvious target for marauding students from other institutions. In the 1970s, Reggie was buried upside-down in a pit near Waterloo station, which was filled with concrete; the tip of his tail remained visible. Later, he was lost for many years in the 1990s, and not recovered until he was found in a field. Having been restored at the cost of around £15,000, Reggie has been placed on display in a glass case in the "Lion's Walk", Macadam Building (Strand campus) in 2002, after being filled with concrete to prevent theft, particularly by University College London (UCL) students who, prior to his burial and dumping, had also castrated him. King's students had also stolen one UCL mascot, Phineas and, allegedly played football with the head of another, Jeremy Bentham.
  Reggie is often styled His Royal Highness, but there is no recent policy on the matter, and this convention has fallen into disuse as mascotry in London has declined.
  A small woolly Reggie on wheels was presented to the then Duke and Duchess of York in 1926 as a toy for the infant Princess Elizabeth (now HM The Queen). Apparently the gift was a huge success. The Duchess wrote a thank you note saying: “Princess Elizabeth is quite delighted with the red lion and refuses to play with anything else.” Another Reggie soft toy was presented in 2019 to the Duchess of Cambridge as a gift for the young Prince George of Cambridge during a visit to KCLSU with Her Majesty The Queen to open its new Bush House building.
caption: Reggie the Lion
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