Queen's College is an independent school for girls aged 11–18 with an adjoining prep school for girls aged 4–11 in the City of Westminster, London. Founded in 1848 by theologian and social reformer Frederick Denison Maurice, Professor of English Literature and History at King's College London, along with a committee of patrons, the College was the first institution in the world to award academic qualifications to women. In 1853, it also became the first girls' school to be granted a Royal Charter for the furtherance of women's education. Ever since, the College patron has been a British queen; the current patron is Queen Elizabeth II.