The Duchess of Cornwall attends the Chelsea Pensioners parade at the Royal Hospital Chelsea
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The Duchess of Cornwall today visited the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London to review Chelsea Pensioners on parade, after the hospital's annual Founder’s Day Parade on 4th June was postponed due to the pandemic.
The Founder’s Day Parade commemorates King Charles II’s founding of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in 1682. The King founded the hospital to give veterans a place to live after retiring from their duties and today the site is home to nearly 300 Chelsea Pensioners, both men and women, who are all former soldiers of the British Army.
The Royal Hospital provides them with a home, comradeship, and the very highest standards of care during their advanced years, in recognition of their loyal service to the Nation.
During a speech, The Duchess of Cornwall said:
In times of war and times of peace, whether seen or unseen, the Armed Forces support and strengthen our nation, just as each one of you Chelsea Pensioners did throughout your careers. I should like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you have done for us.
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