- published: 01 Feb 2013
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A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities (with municipal charters) or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and letters of appointment, as they have perpetual effect. Typically, a royal charter is produced as a high-quality work of calligraphy. The British Monarchy has issued over 980 Royal Charters. Of these about 400 remain in existence. The earliest was to the University of Cambridge in 1231 followed by the University of Oxford in 1248. Charters continue to be issued by the British Monarchy, a recent example would be The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity, which received its charter on 7 April 2011.
Charters have been used in Europe since medieval times to create cities (i.e., localities with recognized legal rights and privileges). The date that such a charter was granted is considered to be when a city was "founded", regardless of when the locality originally began to be settled.