It was envisioned as an independent, non-political organisation to promote "a closer union between the different parts of what is now the Commonwealth of Nations, by the interchange of information and hospitality and by cooperation in any practical scheme tending to foster friendly understanding and good fellowship."
[4] Perhaps the League's first act was the establishment of a fund in 1901 to help the displaced Afrikaner families during the Boer War.
Clubs and hostels were opened in London and Edinburgh and 282,000 beds provided for servicemen on leave.
Margaret Child Villiers, Countess of Jersey, was appointed as the organisation's first President and she retained this position for 26 years.
In honour of the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2012, the organisation financed the building of a secondary school in Sierra Leone.
Since 2019, it is supporting an innovative school called the Umabano Academy which is based in Kigali, Rwanda and operated by A Partner in Education (APIE), a UK registered charity.