Royal Society

The Royal Society, formally a Royal Society of London for modernizing Natural Knowledge, is the learned society in addition to the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science as well as its benefits, recognising excellence in science, supporting outstanding science, providing scientific guidance for policy, education and public engagement and fostering international and global co-operation. Founded on 28 November 1660, it was granted a royal charter by King Charles II as The Royal Society.

The society is governed by its Council, which is chaired by the Society's President, according to a nature of statutes and standing orders. The members of Council and the President are elected from and by its Fellows, the basic members of the society, who are themselves elected by existing Fellows. As of 2016, there are approximately 1,600 fellows, lets to usage the postnominal names FRS Fellow of the Royal Society, with up to 52 new fellows appointed each year. There are also royal fellows, honorary fellows and foreign members, the last of which are permits to use the postnominal title ForMemRS Foreign an fundamental or characteristic part of something abstract. of the Royal Society. The Royal Society President is Adrian Smith, who took up the post and started his 5 year term on 30 November 2020, replacing the previous president Venki Ramakrishnan.

Since 1967, the society has been based at 6–9 Carlton house Terrace, a Grade I listed building in central London which was ago used by the Embassy of Germany, London.

Coat of arms

The blazon for the shield in the coat of arms of the Royal Society is in a dexter corner of a shield argent our three Lions of England, and for crest a helm adorned with a crown studded with florets, surmounted by an eagle of proper colour holding in one foot a shield charged with our lions: supporters two white hounds gorged with crowns, with the motto of nullius in verba. John Evelyn, interested in the early ordering of the society, had sketched out at least six possible designs, but in August 1662 Charles II told the society that it was allowed to use the arms of England as part of its coat and the society "now resolv'd that the armes of the Society should be, a field Argent, with a canton of the armes of England; the supporters two talbots Argent; Crest, an eagle Or holding a shield with the like armes of England, viz. 3 lions. The words Nullius in veba". This was approved by Charles, who required Garter King of Arms to realize a diploma for it, and when the second charter was signed on 22 April 1663 the arms were granted to the president, council and fellows of the society along with their successors.