Physician to the King (or Queen, as appropriate) is a title held by physicians of the
Medical Household
The Medical Household is the medical part of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom.
It mainly comprises a range of Physicians and Surgeons to the Sovereign and to the Royal Household. None have more than a nominal or occasion ...
of the
Sovereign of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. Part of the
Royal Household, the Medical Household includes physicians, who treat general conditions, and extra physicians, specialists who are brought in as required.
In 1973, the position of
Head of the Medical Household was created. The occupant of that position is also a Physician to the King.
Postholders
Royal households before 1901
*
Balthasar Guersye (died 1557), Physician to
Henry VIII and
Catherine of Aragon
*
Matthias de Lobel
Mathias de l'Obel, Mathias de Lobel or Matthaeus Lobelius (1538 – 3 March 1616) was a Flemish physician and plant enthusiast who was born in Lille, Flanders, in what is now Hauts-de-France, France, and died at Highgate, London, England. H ...
, Physician to
King James I
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...
*
Martin Schöner
Dr Martin Schöner or Schönerus (died 1611), physician to James VI and I and Anne of Denmark.
Schöner was born in Głogów in Lower Silesia, then a part of the Habsburg Empire, but was considered to be from Thuringia. He is said to have been a ...
(died 1611), Physician to
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and Eng ...
.
*
Erasmus Darwin (1731–1802), was invited to be Royal Physician by
King George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
, but declined.
*
Sir Richard Croft, Physician to King George III,
King George IV
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten ye ...
and
Princess Charlotte Augusta.
*
Sir Andrew Halliday, Physician to
King William IV
William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...
[ ] and to
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
* Dr
Cornwallis Hewett, Physician Extraordinary to
William IV
William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...
*
Sir William Henry Broadbent, Bt.,
KCVO,
MD, ''Physician Extraordinary to Queen Victoria'' (1896–1901)
*
Sir Henry Thompson, 1st Baronet
Sir Henry Thompson, 1st Baronet, (6 August 1820 – 18 April 1904) was a British surgeon and polymath. His interest was particularly in the surgery of the genito-urinary tract.
Medical career
Thompson was born at Framlingham, Suffolk. His ...
,
FRCS
Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Royal ...
(1820–1904), ''Physician to Queen Victoria''
*
Sir Thomas Grainger Stewart,
FRSE,
FRCPE
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...
(1837–1900), ''Physician-in-Ordinary to the Queen in Scotland from 1882''
*
George Steward Beatson (–1874) Honorary Physician to the Queen
*
Sir Alexander Nisbet (d. 1874), Honorary Physician to the Queen
*
John Davidson, appointed Honorary Physician to the Queen in 1874
Royal Household of King Edward VII
Physician-in-Ordinary to His Majesty
*
Sir William Henry Broadbent, Bt., KCVO, MD 29 March 1901 – 1907
*
Sir James Reid, Bt.,
GCVO
The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...
,
KCB, MD 29 March 1901 – 6 May 1910
*
Sir Francis Laking, Bt., GCVO, KCB, MD 29 March 1901 – 6 May 1910
Physicians Extraordinary to His Majesty
*
Surgeon-General Sir Joseph Fayrer, Bt.,
KCSI, MD 29 March 1901–?
*
Sir Richard Douglas Powell, Bt., KCVO, MD 29 March 1901–?
*
Sir Edward Henry Sieveking, MD 29 March 1901 – 1904
* Sir Felix Semon, MD 29 March 1901–?
* John Lowe, MD 29 March 1901 – 1904
Honorary Physicians-in-Ordinary to His Majesty in Scotland
*
Sir William Tennant Gairdner, KCB, MD 29 March 1901–?
*
George William Balfour, MD 29 March 1901 – 1903
Honorary Physicians-in-Ordinary to His Majesty in Ireland
*
Sir John Thomas Banks, KCB, MD 29 March 1901–?
* William Moore, MD 29 March 1901–?
Royal Households 1910–1973
*
Bertrand Edward Dawson, 1st Viscount Dawson of Penn, GCVO KCB
KCMG KCMG may refer to
* KC Motorgroup, based in Hong Kong, China
* Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, British honour
* KCMG-LP, radio station in New Mexico, USA
* KCMG, callsign 1997-2001 of Los Angeles radio station KKLQ (FM) ...
PC FRCP (1864–1945), ''Physician to
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
,
King Edward VIII
Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...
and
King George VI''.
* Sir Thomas Peel Dunhill, GCVO
CMG FRCP (1876–1957), ''Extra Physician to King George V, King Edward VIII, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II''.
*
Thomas Horder, 1st Baron Horder, GCVO (1871–1955), ''Extra Physician to
King Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...
, King George V, King Edward VIII, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II''.
*
Sir John Weir GCVO
& Chain CMG MD (1879–1971), ''Physician to King George V, King Edward VIII, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II''.
*
Sir Arnold Stott KBE FRCP (1885–1958), ''Extra Physician to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II''.
*
Andrew Best Semple (1963–1965), ''Honorary Physician to Queen Elizabeth II''
* Air Marshal Sir
Sidney Richard Carlyle Nelson (1961-1967), Honorary Physician too ''Queen Elizabeth'' II.
*
Air Vice-Marshal
Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...
Frederick Charles Hurrell
Air Vice Marshal Frederick "Freddie" Charles Hurrell, (24 April 1928 – 3 October 2008) was a senior medical officer in the Royal Air Force who spent his 35-year military career in aviation medicine and served as Director-General of the RAF Me ...
CB,
OBE, ''Honorary Physician to Queen Elizabeth II''.
* Professor
Kenneth Gordon Lowe CVO FRCP MD, ''Queen's Physician in Scotland''.
Royal Household post-1973
* see
Heads of the Medical Household.
References
See also
*
Physician to the President
The physician to the president is the formal and official title of the physician who is chosen by the president to be his personal physician.
Often, the physician to the president also serves as the director of the White House Medical Unit, a u ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Queen, Physician To The
Positions within the British Royal Household
Court physicians