| Description | Three charters were granted to the Royal Society by its Founder and Patron, King Charles II. The first is dated 15 July 1662; the second 22 April 1663; and the third 8 April 1669.
The first Charter lists the right to have the bodies of executed criminals for anatomical study, a right which the College of Physicians and the Corporation of Surgeons of London already had. It also lists procedures for dealing with a dispute, a procedure which was invoked in 1936 when the legality of a postal ballot being brought into use was in question. This First Charter, however, did not give the Fellows all the privileges which they desired, and a second Charter, supplying the desired privileges and retaining all the clauses of incorporation contained in the First Charter, passed the Great Seal on 22 April 1663. |