PROUDLY proclaimed on the cornice of the long loggia that extends across the exterior of Figure Court, the river frontage of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, is an inscription in large letters that succinctly records the purpose and history of the building. The Latin text, which is divided into two sections by the central portico, begins: ‘For the succour and relief of veterans broken by age and war founded by Charles II.’ The inscription continues: ‘Enlarged by James II and completed by William and Mary King and Queen A.D. 1692.’ There, in a nutshell, is the foundation story of this splendid institution, spread across three reigns, with a statement of its intended beneficiaries.
Charles II (r. 1660–85) was witness to the fighting of the Civil Wars at first hand. He was present as a 13 year old at Edgehill in 1642, the first and inconclusive battle in the conflict, and commanded the hugely outnumbered Royalist forces at the Battle of Worcester in 1651 at its military conclusion. In the aftermath of these events, the sorry lot of wounded and destitute soldiers must have been all too evident to him, not to mention the value of a magnificent royal gesture of charity
