Sir Christopher Wren and his assistant Nicholas Hawksmoor gave their services free of charge as architects of the new Royal Hospital.

[1] An early controversy arose when it emerged that the original plans for the hospital would have blocked the riverside view from the Queen's House.

The Grand Square and processional route running north–south maintained access to, and a river view from, the Queen's House and Greenwich Park beyond.

[4] In 1705 an additional £6,472 was paid into the fund, comprising the liquidated value of estates belonging to the recently hanged pirate Captain William Kidd.

[5] The first of the principal buildings constructed was the King Charles Court (the oldest part dating back to the restoration), completed in March 1705.

[6] The other principal buildings constructed included: Queen Mary Court houses the hospital's chapel (designed by Wren but not completed until 1742).

[11] On the riverside front of the north-east corner of King Charles Court is an obelisk, designed by Philip Hardwick and unveiled in 1855, erected in memory of the Arctic explorer Joseph René Bellot, who died in an unsuccessful attempt to rescue the members of John Franklin's ill-fated expedition to open a Northwest Passage in northern Canada.

[13] In 1774, the then Lieutenant Governor, Captain Thomas Baillie made allegations of mismanagement of the hospital's affairs, which led to a celebrated court case.

[15] In 1933 it moved to Holbrook, Suffolk (where it remains today); the old school buildings were reopened the following year as the National Maritime Museum.

[20] Governors included:[13] The charitable foundation of Greenwich Hospital still exists, although it is no longer based at the original site.

[23] In August 2020, several market traders warned they might have to cease trading after Greenwich Hospital's managing agent Knight Frank informed them of steep rent increases during the COVID-19 pandemic.