Duke takes up Chancellor's seat

The 12th Duke of Devonshire has become the University of Derby's next Chancellor at a special ceremony.

The current Chancellor, Professor Leslie Wagner, retired from the honorary role at a ceremony on the Buxton campus on Tuesday evening.

Vice-Chancellor Professor John Coyne said the Duke would be a good ambassador for the university.

About 400 people were expected to attend the celebrations taking place in the university's 19th Century Dome.

The Duke, Peregrine Andrew Morny Cavendish, has had a family connection with the Chatsworth Estate near Bakewell and the county of Derbyshire for more than 500 years.

The Duke said he was looking forward to taking up his new post. "It is a tremendous honour to have been invited to become the Chancellor of this fine university, the most important seat of learning in Derbyshire, a county my family has called home for five centuries.

"I am very fortunate to follow in the footsteps of my distinguished predecessors."