Tennis legend King receives honorary Oxford degree

Tennis legend Billie Jean King and former Prime Minister of New Zealand Dame Jacinda Ardern have received honorary degrees from the University of Oxford.

King and Ardern were two of nine recipients who received the prestigious honour during a sweltering Encaenia ceremony at the Sheldonian Theatre on Wednesday.

As part of the centuries-old service, a procession made up of university dignitaries and degree recipients walk through the city - usually in full academic dress.

King said it was an "honour and a privilege" to receive this degree during the "historic celebration".

"Education, at any age, is a powerful tool and we must always keep learning and learning how to learn," she added.

The ceremony usually has a strict dress-code, but this was relaxed due to the ongoing heatwave - with jackets and gowns optional for those in the procession.

Following the procession, the recipients signed their names in the Honorary Degrees Book at the Divinity School, before moving to the Sheldonian Theatre - where the Encaenia ceremony has been held in some form since 1670.

The university said "additional measures" had also been put in place to "help guests manage the heat".

King, 82, is best known as one of the greatest female tennis players of all time, winning 39 Grand Slam titles in singles and doubles competitions.

She is also an advocate for gender equality and social justice, winning the 'Battle of the Sexes' match against Bobby Riggs in 1973.

Alongside King, Dame Jacinda - who spent more than five years as Prime Minister of New Zealand - was also honoured.

She had initially been expected to receive an honorary degree in 2025, but was unable to attend that year's ceremony.

Other recipients of the honorary degrees included actress and theatre director Adjoa Andoh, former GSK chief executive Dame Emma Walmsley and Cuban ballet dancer Carlos Acosta.

Nobel Prize winning physicist Prof Shuji Nakamura, biochemist Prof Katalin Karikó and historian and award-winning filmmaker Prof Henry Louis Gates Jr were also honoured during the ceremony.