Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851

The founding President of the Commission was Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and its chief administrator was Henry Cole.

An unusual decision was made to maintain the Royal Commission as a permanent administrative body and to use the profits for charitable purposes.

The commission invested the profits from the 1851 Exhibition in the purchase of 86 acres (350,000 m2) of land in South Kensington.

The area was then developed as a centre for educational and cultural institutions, often known as "Albertopolis".

Since 1891 the role of the commission has been to provide postgraduate scholarships for students to study in Britain and abroad.