Royal Navy medicine becomes diplomatic influence

The naval hospital would serve local diplomacy as well as visiting warships. Royal Navy doctors at overseas stations were sometimes loaned to local nobles, so the Hawaiian royal family could call on the base's medical officer. Naval qualifications did not guarantee good care by modern standards, but they established that the officer had passed professional requirements. That access could matter greatly to a dynasty repeatedly endangered by illness. Routine medical help would reinforce the personal and diplomatic bond created by the royal promise.