Her Majesty's Theatre provided the first alternative to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, built in 1663 and the Lincoln's Inn, founded in 1660 (forerunner of the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, built in 1728). The theatre's site is the second oldest such site in London that remains in use. These three post-interregnum theatres defined the shape and use of modern theatres. The land for the theatre was held on a lease renewable in 1740 and was ultimately owned, as it is today, by the Crown Estate. Building was delayed by the necessity of acquiring the street frontage, and a three bay entrance led to
Third-oldest university in England debate which had gained the right to confer London degrees themselves and direct access to government funding in the early 1990s. In its modern usage "university" thus often takes on the meaning of "de facto" rather than "de jure" university. It is notable that by the formal definition, both UCL and King's remain colleges of the University of London rather than universities in their own right. This is part of the definition used by the European University Association's four-volume series, "A History of the University in Europe", which lists Durham as the third oldest university in England (from 1832) with London