The private hospital that is the first choice for the royal family

From the Queen to the late Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother, the exclusive clinic in central London has been the first port of call for ailing members of The Firm for years.

The Duke of Edinburgh has been admitted a number of times in recent years and the Duchess of Cornwall had a hysterectomy at the medical institution in 2012.

The first time the Queen was admitted to hospital was at the King Edward VII’s in July 1982 when she had a wisdom tooth extracted.

In 2003, the clinic’s surgeons also removed minor non-cancerous growths from the monarch’s face and operated on her knee.

Tragedy struck in 2012 when nurse Jacintha Saldanha apparently killed herself after she was duped by two hoax callers who had phoned the hospital.

The Duchess of Cambridge was being treated at the hospital for severe morning sickness when pregnant with Prince George, and Ms Saldanha – believing the Australian pair were senior royals – put them through to a colleague who described in detail Kate’s condition.

Philip was treated at the hospital for a short period in 2018 following a planned admission for a pre-existing but undisclosed condition.

The previous year the duke spent nine days receiving treatment and physio following a hip replacement at the institution.

King Edward VII’s Hospital was established in 1899 by two sisters, Agnes and Fanny Keyser, who turned their home at 17 Grosvenor Crescent into a hospital for sick and wounded officers returning from the Boer War.

King Edward VII became the hospital’s first patron – a role now held by the Queen.

Edward VII, Charles’s great-great grandfather, had an affair with Camilla’s great-grandmother Alice Keppel.

The hospital moved to its present site in Beaumont Street in 1948, and in 2000 it changed its title to King Edward VII’s Hospital Sister Agnes.