Royal Hospital Chelsea
It is an independent charity and relies partly upon donations to cover day-to-day running costs to provide care and accommodation for veterans.
[3] The tradition was perpetuated when her portrait was used as a sign for a public house in Grosvenor Row (a thoroughfare which disappeared in the 19th century).
Letters patent were issued on 22 December 1681 notifying the king's intention of building "an hospital for the relief of such land soldiers as are, or shall be, old, lame, or infirm in ye service of the crowne".
For this purpose he appointed as "Receiver General and Treasurer of the moneys raised for the erection and maintenance of the hospital" Nicholas Johnson (d.1682), Fox's brother-in-law and successor as Paymaster of the Forces.
[10] The mace was designed by Charles Webb and Aubrey Bowden and was made by Master Goldsmith Norman Bassant.
Winifred Phillips trained as a nurse and later joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1948 before enlisting in the Women's Royal Army Corps in 1949 while serving in Egypt.
[12] Dorothy Hughes had joined the British Army in 1941 aged 18, later working as part of 450 Heavy Anti Aircraft Battery in the London Division.
[17] The Royal Hospital Founder's Day takes place close to 29 May each year – the birthday of Charles II of England, and the date of his restoration as King in 1660.
It contains a large mural painting from around 1690, which depicts Charles II of England on horseback being crowned by the winged figure of Victory, with the Royal Hospital Buildings behind.
Opened in 2009 by Charles, Prince of Wales it is a state-of-the-art care home that offers nursing and a GP surgery.
The infirmary received the Quality Hallmark Award at Beacon Status (the highest level possible) from the National Gold Standards Framework Centre in End of Life Care in 2015.
The Dairy Council is now in its 56th year of organising a special ceremony at the hospital, where donations from cheesemongers from across the country are presented to the residents.
[26] The on-site museum details the history and life of the Royal Hospital and its In-Pensioners, together with displays of artefacts, documents, medals, cap badges and uniforms.
[27] In September 2022, the hospital served as the meeting point for foreign heads of state, leaders, and ambassadors to gather ahead of Queen Elizabeth's funeral.
[28][29] Prominently displayed in the grounds next to the flagpole is an inscribed cannon from Singora bearing the seal of Sultan Sulaiman Shah.
The in-pensioners are formed into four companies, each headed by a Captain of Invalids (an ex-Army officer responsible for the 'day to day welfare, management and administration' of the pensioners under his charge).
[31] There is also a Secretary who traditionally was responsible for paying the Army pensions, but today they look after the annual budget, staff, buildings and grounds.
The ex-officio chairman of the board is HM Paymaster General (whose predecessor Sir Stephen Fox was instrumental in founding the hospital in the seventeenth century).
The purpose of the Board is 'to guide the development of The Royal Hospital, ensuring the care and well-being of the residents who live there and safeguarding the historic buildings and grounds, which it owns in trust'.
