Chelsea History Festival 2026

The Chelsea History Festival is in its eighth year, and for four days from Thursday it spreads across the three institutions on Royal Hospital Road, the National Army Museum, the Royal Hospital Chelsea and Chelsea Physic Garden, with Chelsea Old Church, the Royal Court and the Garrison Chapel joining in. This year’s guest curator is John Simpson, the BBC’s World Affairs Editor, and the headliners include Andrew Roberts, Monty Halls, Anna Whitelock and Katie Wignall.

What to pick

The Royal Hospital tours are led by Chelsea Pensioners themselves, from £15.50 to £28, and on Thursday evening there are Twilight Tours from six until eight at £33. Also on Thursday, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas is sung at Chelsea Old Church at half six, £15 to £25. The walking tours out of the National Army Museum cover Rock and Roll Chelsea, Tudor Chelsea and the Women of Chelsea at £20 each.

Free

Not everything is ticketed at a price. Thursday has object handling from the Chelsea Pensioners’ collection at Soane Stable Yard from eleven until two, and a free talk on old London slang in the afternoon, and each event on the programme shows its own price.

The programme and prices were read on the Chelsea Heritage Quarter’s festival page and the National Army Museum’s festival listing on 27 September 2026.

Nearby

Chelsea has the nearest stations and everything else on in the same part of town. The National Army Museum page collects every listing we hold for that address. Filed under Talks.