Founded on 28 November 1660, it was granted a royal charter by King Charles II and is the oldest continuously existing scientific academy in the world.

The Invisible College has been described as a precursor group to the Royal Society of London, consisting of a number of natural philosophers around Robert Boyle.

Ben Jonson in England referenced the idea, related in meaning to Francis Bacon's House of Solomon, in a masque The Fortunate Isles and Their Union from 1624/5.

[8] The Royal Society started from groups of physicians and natural philosophers, meeting at a variety of locations, including Gresham College in London.

This view was held by Jean-Baptiste du Hamel, Giovanni Domenico Cassini, Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle and Melchisédech Thévenot at the time and has some grounding in that Henry Oldenburg, the society's first secretary, had attended the Montmor Academy meeting.

[13]On 28 November 1660, which is considered the official foundation date of the Royal Society, a meeting at Gresham College of 12 natural philosophers decided to commence a "Colledge for the Promoting of Physico-Mathematicall Experimentall Learning".

The first proposal was given by John Evelyn to Robert Boyle in a letter dated 3 September 1659; he suggested a grander scheme, with apartments for members and a central research institute.

Similar schemes were expounded by Bengt Skytte and later Abraham Cowley, who wrote in his Proposition for the Advancement of Experimental Philosophy in 1661 of a "'Philosophical College", with houses, a library and a chapel.

[22] During the 18th century, the gusto that had characterised the early years of the society faded; with a small number of scientific "greats" compared to other periods, little of note was done.

During the argument that occurred when deciding which to use, opponents of Franklin's invention accused supporters of being American allies rather than being British, and the debate eventually led to the resignation of the society's president, Sir John Pringle.

During the same time period, it became customary to appoint society fellows to serve on government committees where science was concerned, something that still continues.

Although the overall fellowship contained few noted scientists, most of the council were highly regarded, and included at various times John Hadley, William Jones and Hans Sloane.

Richard Sorrenson writes that "far from having 'fared ingloriously', the society experienced a period of significant productivity and growth throughout the eighteenth century", pointing out that many of the sources critical accounts are based on are in fact written by those with an agenda.

[30] While Charles Babbage wrote that the practice of pure mathematics in Britain was weak, laying the blame at the doorstep of the society, the practice of mixed mathematics was strong and although there were not many eminent members of the society, some did contribute vast amounts – James Bradley, for example, established the nutation of the Earth's axis with 20 years of detailed, meticulous astronomy.

The property was offered to the society by His Majesty's Government and, as soon as Sir Joseph Banks became president in November 1778, he began planning the move.

The most important change there was the requirement that the Treasurer publish an annual report, along with a copy of the total income and expenditure of the society.

This was accompanied by a full list of Fellows standing for Council positions, where previously the names had only been announced a couple of days before.

To show support for vaccines against COVID-19, the Royal Society under the guidance of both Nobel prize-winner Venki Ramakrishnan and Sir Adrian Smith added its power to shape public discourse and proposed "legislation and punishment of those who produced and disseminated false information" about the experimental medical interventions.

This was brought to popular notice in January 2020 by a retired justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Lord Sumption, who in his broadside wrote "Science advances by confronting contrary arguments, not by suppressing them.

"[51] The proposal was authored by sociologist Melinda Mills and approved by her colleagues on the "Science in Emergencies Tasking – COVID" in an October 2020 report entitled "COVID-19 vaccine deployment: Behaviour, ethics, misinformation and policy strategies".

POFMA also lifted any exemptions for internet intermediaries which legally required social media companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter and Baidu to immediately correct cases of misinformation on their platforms.

It was adopted to signify the fellows' determination to establish facts via experiments and comes from Horace's Epistles, where he compares himself to a gladiator who, having retired, is free from control.

[62] While the entrance fee of £4 and the subscription rate of one shilling a week should have produced £600 a year for the society, many fellows paid neither regularly nor on time.

Members are elected annually via a postal ballot, and current standing orders mean that at least ten seats must change hands each year.

The original charter provided for "two or more Operators of Experiments, and two or more clerks"; as the number of books in the society's collection grew, it also became necessary to employ a curator.

The staff grew as the financial position of the society improved, mainly consisting of outsiders, along with a small number of scientists who were required to resign their fellowship on employment.

[85] The building is still owned by the Crown Estates and leased by the society; it underwent a major renovation from 2001 to 2004 at the cost of £9.8 million, and was reopened by the Prince of Wales on 7 July 2004.

[86] In 2009 Chicheley Hall, a Grade I listed building located near Milton Keynes, was bought by the Royal Society for £6.5 million, funded in part by the Kavli Foundation.

[78] The oldest is the Croonian Lecture, created in 1701 at the request of the widow of William Croone, one of the founding members of the Royal Society.

The Croonian Lecture is still awarded on an annual basis and is considered the most important Royal Society prize for the biological sciences.