London - Royal Hospital

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In the Figure Court is a bronze statue of Charles II, a masterpiece by Grinling Gibbons. On Founder's Day (29 May) this is decked with oak boughs (commemorating Charles's escape after the Battle of Worcester by hiding in an oak tree), and the pensioners receive double pay.

In the main building is the Great Hall, the finely panelled dining hall of the Hospital. On the walls are royal portraits and copies of flags captured from America and France. At the west end is an equestrian portrait of Charles II. In the Governor's House is the Council Chamber, originally designed by Wren, with later alterations by Adam. On the walls are pictures by Sir Anthony van Dyck, Sir Peter Lely and Sir Godfrey Kneller. The Chapel, also by Wren, has been preserved in its original state. In the apse is a fine painting of the Resurrection by Sebastiano Ricci (1710).

In the Royal Hospital gardens, which stretch down to the Thames embankment, are a number of cannons, some of them captured from the French at the Battle of Waterloo. Every year in late May, the famous Chelsea Flower Show is held here.