Tour of the Royal Hospital Chelsea

Tour the 330-year-old Royal Hospital Chelsea with a Chelsea Pensioner and hear about the site's history and stories.

About the event

Experience the Royal Hospital through the eyes of one of its iconic residents. Discover Nell Gwynn’s rumoured role in its establishment, learn about the military titan who lay in state in the Great Hall, and hear the stories of residents, past and present.

Conducted personally by one of the Chelsea Pensioners, the tour transports participants from the dawn of Restoration England through to the Napoleonic Wars and into the austerity of two World Wars. This tour will start at the National Army Museum.

It will last around an hour and a half. There is also an opportunity to visit our new Chelsea Pensioner Museum after your tour in the newly opened Soane Stable Yard

A special pre-opening ticket price of £20 is available for the period of the Chelsea History Festival, before the Soane Stable Yard officially opens.

About the speaker

Though Chelsea has long since been engulfed by the sprawl of London, the Royal Hospital remains one of the most iconic sites within the capital. As the permanent home to the Chelsea Pensioners, it is numbered amongst the nation’s most loved and valued working historic buildings. The Royal Hospital’s relevance to modern society remains undiminished, continuing a centuries-old tradition of veteran care.

Dates & times