Statue of Charles II, Royal Hospital Chelsea

The statue of Charles II stands in the Figure, or Middle, Court of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London. The sculptor was Grinling Gibbons, and the statue was executed around 1680–1682. The king founded the Royal Hospital in 1682 as a home for retired army veterans. The statue is a Grade I listed structure.

History
Charles II founded the Royal Hospital in 1682 to care for "those broken by age or war". The inspiration was the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris, founded by Louis XIV of France. The commission was given to Christopher Wren and construction continued from 1682 to 1691. The statue of Charles was commissioned by Tobias Rustat, a member of the king's court and was designed by Grinling Gibbons in about 1682. Gibbons's fee was £500. The statue originally stood elsewhere and was moved to the Royal Hospital after Charles's death in 1685. Annually, on 29 May, Oak Apple Day, the traditional day for the celebration of the Restoration in 1660, the statue is wreathed with oak leaves.

Description
The statue is of brass and was originally gilded in bronze. It has been re-gilded subsequently to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2002. It depicts the king in the attire of a Roman general, is 7.6 ft high, and stands on a marble plinth. The statue was designated a Grade I listed structure, the highest grading given to buildings and structures of "exceptional interest", in 1969.