The Chelsea Pensioners website [visit
link] tells us:
"His Royal Highness The Prince Of
Wales and Baroness Thatcher officially opened the Margaret Thatcher Infirmary on
the 25th of March 2009.
The Margaret Thatcher Infirmary is a
state of the art care home and hospice for the Chelsea Pensioners. Built by
Quinlan Terry it has 125 beds, all with ensuite bathrooms.
The Royal Hospital Chelsea has now
started work on the refurbishment of all of the Long Wards. Wards 23 and 24 were
opened in May 2010 and work will begin shortly on the remaining Long
Wards."
The BBC website [visit link] additionally
tells us:
"The Prince of Wales has been joined
by Baroness Thatcher to open an infirmary named after the former prime
minister.
The multi-million pound facility is
at London's Royal Hospital Chelsea, home to the famous Chelsea
pensioners.
At the opening, Prince Charles said
it was "entirely appropriate that we should continue to provide a sanctuary" for
veteran soldiers.
The hospital is in talks with the
MoD to provide care for service personnel injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Lady Thatcher unveiled a portrait of
herself to mark the official opening of the building.
Prince Charles said: "This famous
historic hospital is far more than a matter of bricks and mortar. It's the
physical record of who our soldiers are and how they came to be.
"Indeed, the battle honours
inscribed on the panel of the Great Hall tell the enduring story of the British
army. But it is the veteran soldiers who are the living embodiment of that
story.
"It is therefore entirely
appropriate that we should continue to provide a sanctuary for them. This
building helps to achieve this in a wonderfully elegant way."
The hospital dates back to 1682 when
it was founded by Charles II for "the succour and relief of veterans broken by
age and war".
Lieutenant Governor Peter Currie
said the hospital had been in discussions with the Ministry of
Defence.
He said: "We are very interested to
do something to help the serving Army and those who've been
injured.
"We are talking to the MoD to see
how we are able to help. They seem very keen."
Meanwhile, Clarence House has said
the Duchess of Cornwall has cancelled her engagements for the next two days
after contracting acute bronchitis.
Camilla was told to rest by her
doctor after being affected by the respiratory illness.
The royal had been due to attend a
series of events in Devon and Somerset on Thursday and in Wiltshire on
Friday.
Camilla appeared in good health when
she returned from a 10-day tour of South America last week, which included a
state visit to Brazil.
A Clarence House spokeswoman said:
"The Duchess of Cornwall has acute bronchitis and has cancelled her engagements
on Thursday 26 March and Friday 27 March on her doctor's advice.
"The duchess has asked that the
cancelled engagements are re-arranged for another date."
Camilla's diary included a visit to
Devon to open a new service at Derriford Hospital and present medals to medical
personnel at HMS Drake.
She was then to have met staff at
Exmoor Pony Centre in Dulverton, Somerset.
On Friday in Wiltshire, Camilla was
due to have opened a primary and nursery school in Trowbridge and a community
pavilion in the village of Box."