King Edward VII’s is the royal hospital of choice

Many a royal has been cared for at the private King Edward VII’s Hospital, where the Queen spent the night on Wednesday.

It was the place where the Duke of Edinburgh spent almost a month before his death in April this year.

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

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said the visit had been for “preliminary investigations” and the monarch returned to Windsor on Thursday.

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 her face and operated on her knee.

Philip had been admitted a number of times in recent years.

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

But tragedy also struck in 2012 when nurse Jacintha Saldanha apparently killed herself after she was duped by two hoax callers who 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.

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.

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.