24/12/25 The Ceremony of the Christmas Cheeses

With a military pipe band and trumpet fanfares, Caz Graham joins pensioners at the Royal Hospital Chelsea for their Ceremony of the Christmas Cheeses, a festive tradition where dairy processors and farmers present cheese for the Hospital’s Christmas celebrations.

It dates back to the late 1600s when Sir Christopher Wren was commissioned by King Charles II to build a sanctuary for soldiers 'broken by age and war'. He asked the dairies of London to give cheese every Christmas to the veterans who became known as the Chelsea Pensioners.

Caz meets the Hospital’s Governor to hear about the origins of this ancient ceremony, farmers whose milk goes into some of the cheeses, and some of the pensioners taking part, including Andy Kay, the Chelsea pensioner who cuts the first slice of a huge 25kg Montgomery cheddar with a ceremonial sword.

Produced and presented by Caz Graham.