Following are lists of the faculty of Royal College Colombo, the Colombo Academy and the Queens College Colombo as it was formally known. This includes its former Head Masters, principals and academic staff.
In the early twentieth century, appointments of the Principal of Royal College was made by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, later with the ratification of the State Council of Ceylon. At present, the appointment is made by the Minister of Education, under the recommendation of the Department of Education. The post is considered to be the most senior Principal in Sri Lanka Education Administrative Service.
| Name | Entered Office | Departed Office |
|---|---|---|
| J. H. Marsh Snr, MA(Edin) | 1835 | 1838 |
| J. Brooke H. Bailey (acting) | 1839 | 1842 |
| A. Kessen | 1842 | 1842 |
| Name | Entered Office | Departed Office | |
|---|---|---|---|
| J. F. Haslam, BA(Cantab) | 1839 | 1840 | |
| Barcroft Boake, BA(Dublin), DD(Dublin) | 1842 | 1870 | |
| George Todd, ISO, BA(Oxon) | 1871 | 1878 | |
| J. B. Cull, MA(Oxon) | 1878 | 1890 | |
| J. H. Marsh (Jnr), MA(Edin) | 1890 | 1892 | |
| J. H. Harward, MA(Oxon) | 1892 | 1902 | |
| C. Hartley, MA(Cantab) | 1903 | 1919 | |
| Major H. L. Reed, MC, BA(Cantab) | 1920 | 1932 | |
| L. H. W. Sampson, BA(Oxon), FRGS | 1932 | 1938 | |
| E. L. Bradby, MA(Oxon) | 1939 | 1945 | |
| J. C. A. Corea, MA(Lond), DipEd(Cantab) | 1946 | 1953 | |
| D. K. G. de Silva, BSc(Lond), DipEd(Cey) | 1954 | 1966 | |
| Deshabandu B. A. Premaratne, BA(Lond), MA(NY TTC) | 1967 | 1971 | |
| D. G. Welikala, BSc(Lond) | 1971 | 1972 | |
| D. J. N. Seneviratne, BSc(Lond), MA(Colombia), F.G.TRD, Cert(History)(Cey) | 1972 | 1972 | |
| L. D. H. Peiris, BSc(Lond), DipEd(Cey) | 1972 | 1980 | |
| C. T. M. Fernando, BA(Lond), CertEd(Cey), Cert Ed. Adm.(Edin) | 1981 | 1986 | |
| B. Suriyaarachchi, BA(Cey), DipEd | 1986 | 1994 | |
| S. H. Kumarasinghe, BA(Cey), DipEd | 1994 | 1997 | |
| H. L. B. Gomes, BA(Pera), DipEd, Cert Ed. Mgt. | 1997 | 2003 | |
| H. A. Upali Gunasekera, BSc(Pera), DipEd | 2003 | 2016 | |
| B. A. Abeyratne | 2016 | 2021 | |
| M. V. S. Gunathilaka, BA(Pera) | 2021 | 2022 | |
| P. A. S. P. Jayalath | 2022 | 2022 | |
| R. M. M. Rathnayake | 2022 | 2023 | |
| Thilak Waththuhewa, BCom(SJP) | 2023 |