St. James Infirmary Blues London's St. James Hospital, a religious foundation for the treatment of leprosy. His references list an article by Kenneth Lodewick. That article states, giving no reference or source for the idea, that the phrase "St. James Hospital" refers to a hospital of that name in London. There is some difficulty in this because the hospital in question closed in 1532 when Henry VIII acquired the land to build St James's Palace. Another possibility suggested by Higginbotham on the basis of his claim that the song "St. James Infirmary" dates at least from the early nineteenth century, is the Infirmary section
Court of St James's represent the monarch in Her role as sovereign of each such country. The Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps (before 1920, Master of the Ceremonies), who acts as the link between the British monarch and foreign diplomatic missions, is permanently based at St James's Palace. In 1886, there were only six Ambassadors in London, with 37 other countries represented by Ministers. By 2015, this had increased to 175 foreign missions accredited to the Court of St James's: 47 high commissions from Commonwealth countries and 128 embassies from non-Commonwealth countries. Official meetings and receptions associated with the court, such as Privy Council