英国皇家爱乐乐团1946年创立，1966年英国女王为乐团冠上“皇家”头衔，奠定了其在英国乐坛无可替代的地位。乐团以丰富、流畅的音色和近乎完美的配合以及对经典曲目的驾驭能力征服了世界。

乐团由一些世界上最好的指挥家出任指挥，最知名的包括鲁道夫·肯佩、安塔尔·多拉第、安德雷·普列文、弗拉基米尔·阿什肯纳吉等。在丹尼尔·盖提（自1996年来任音乐总监）的出色领导下，皇家爱乐乐团蒸蒸日上，日程表被一系列音乐会、巡演和录音排满。乐团很高兴的宣布：自2009/2010演出季开始，查尔斯·迪图瓦将成为乐团的艺术总监和首席指挥，同时丹尼尔·盖提仍将出任荣誉指挥。
乐团立足伦敦，其2007/2008皇家阿尔伯特音乐厅音乐季包括若干场特别音乐会，涵盖从流行经典如霍尔斯特的《行星组曲》和柯萨柯夫的《天方夜谭》到最好的百老汇和电影音乐。这一系列与许多国际著名艺术家合作，包括莱昂纳德·斯拉特金、托马斯·阿伦爵士及约翰·里尔。皇家爱乐乐团在诸如卡多甘音乐厅（Cadogan）等伦敦最新的音乐场所也会举办部分音乐会，这是对在皇家阿尔伯特音乐厅大量交响乐演出的补充。乐团同样也渴望在2008年春新落成的皇家节庆音乐厅演出新的音乐会系列。
皇家爱乐乐团以在首都的演出为起点，组织一系列地区巡演包括北安普顿、罗斯特伏特、温布尔顿、卡特福德和克劳利等。乐团在每年夏季还会为国内数万名观众演出露天音乐会，包括2007年8月在水晶宫新启动的系列演出。

作为一支国际性交响乐团，皇家爱乐乐团最近五年内已在超过30个国家举行了巡回演出，包括在梵蒂冈为保罗二世教皇所作的演出及在中国天安门广场的演出等。最近的巡演包括皇家爱乐乐团的首次埃及巡演，与莱昂纳德·斯拉特金合作在开罗及亚历山大歌剧院家演出，此外还有在西班牙、意大利和德国的演出。
皇家爱乐乐团通过一个富有创新及活力的社区和教育计划拓展着她的艺术工作。使用音乐这样一个有力的工具，乐团实施了与年轻的无家可归者、青年俱乐部、缓刑犯、学校及家庭相关的系列项目。乐团社区及教育项目推动了反映个性和乐团背景的现场音乐演出的发展。
皇家爱乐乐团为各主要唱片公司录制唱片，乐团亦有着她自己的唱片标签，包括非常受欢迎的“古典来了”系列。这些唱片反映了皇家爱乐乐团曲目的多样性，从流行的交响乐、合唱乐到电影经典音乐及歌舞剧的音乐都有涉及。
国际知名美籍指挥家莱昂纳德·斯拉特金是国家交响乐团的音乐总监、同事担任皇家爱乐乐团首席客座指挥及洛杉矶爱乐乐团首席客座指挥。他在北美、欧洲及远东的演出通过富有想象力的编排和对现当代交响曲目的精确诠释而令人印象深刻。
Indelibly linked to its founder, Sir Thomas Beecham, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is considered one of the four major orchestras based in London. Established in 1946 in connection with the Royal Philharmonic Society, the orchestra's title was directly approved by King George VI. Although it has often had to fight for its survival, the RPO remains one of the busiest ensembles in Great Britain. The orchestra annually offers a set of concert series in three London venues (Royal Festival Hall, Barbican Hall and Croydon's Fairfield Hall), provides music for many films and tours extensively at home and abroad. It is more involved with the pop music industry than many of its peers and the ensemble's Hooked on Classics series of recordings has been a tremendous boon to the group's finances and international visibility. The series sold more than nine million copies world-wide. An appearance in the half-time show of the Orange Bowl football game in Miami, Florida during the mid-1980's brought the orchestra to the attention of millions of viewers. As it is with many of the world's first-ranked ensembles, the RPO relies heavily on its corporate sponsors for its funding. In an attempt to secure its financial future and have more control of its artistic direction, the orchestra began producing and marketing its own recordings under its exclusive RPO label.

With the horrors of World War II behind him, Sir Thomas Beecham was anxious to have an orchestra to direct. When the opportunity to lead the newly formed Philharmonia Orchestra was given to Herbert von Karajan, Beecham decided to assemble his own ensemble. He gathered many of Europe's top musicians, made an agreement with the Royal Philharmonic Society to play an exclusive season of concerts at the Davis Theater in Croydon and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was born. The orchestra was almost immediately successful attracting enthusiastic audiences and excellent critical reviews. In 1950, the RPO did its first international tour to the United States playing in forty five cities. Although American critics took issue with the fact that Beecham's programming was very conservative and included no contemporary English compositions, the tour was a huge commercial success and the RPO's future was secured.

During the 1950s, the orchestra continued to raise its already high musical standards, widen its repertoire and seek out lucrative recording contracts even though Beecham appeared less frequently on the podium. He claimed that the tax laws in place in England at the time did not allow him to live comfortably in London but ill health was probably the real reason for his absences.

When Beecham died in 1961, the orchestra sought out German conductor Rudolf Kempe as his successor. Under Kempe's leadership the RPO continued a full schedule of concerts and other projects but signs of trouble began to appear in 1963. In February of that year, it was proposed that the RPO merge with the orchestra of the Royal Opera at Covent Garden but an agreement was never reached. Then the Royal Philharmonic Society decided not to engage the orchestra for its upcoming season and finally the ensemble was excluded from a cooperative agreement with the Royal Festival Hall and the three other major London orchestras (London Philharmonic, London Symphony and the New Philharmonic). With their future hanging in the balance, the RPO players decided to reorganize the orchestra into an independent, self-governing entity run by a Board of Directors drawn primarily from within the membership. Kempe agreed to remain as music director and throughout the turbulent months of transition, the orchestra continued its rigorous performance schedule and even completed a fifty-two concert tour in North America.

More problems arose in 1964 when the orchestra was excluded from appearing at the Royal Festival Hall for another two years and the Royal Philharmonic Society threatened to withdraw the orchestra's "Royal" title. Upon hearing of this, Queen Elizabeth II conferred her blessing on the ensemble as "Royal....in its own right" which allowed the orchestra to retain its title.

The orchestra's future brightened in the mid-1960s when a report by Lord Goodman recommended that the RPO should be given government subsidies in order that it remain active. With the infusion of annual grants from the London Orchestral Concert Board, the orchestra survived and grew. Unfortunately Kempe, who remained as principal conductor and music director until 1975, was never able to develop a characteristic ensemble sound in the RPO although the standard of musicianship within the group was excellent.

When Antál Doráti succeeded Kempe in 1975 he attempted to bring his characteristic versatility of repertoire to the RPO. He was not entirely successful because of the orchestra's largely conservative attitude toward programming but some strides were made. His successor, Walter Weller, was even less successful in influencing the ensemble and during his tenure, the RPO slipped into a rather lack-luster role in London's musical circles. A series of successful tours and participation in many major international festivals kept the orchestra in the public eye and it enjoyed reasonable popularity with its audiences.

André Previn's arrival on the RPO podium in 1985 shook the orchestra to its core and energized its somewhat pedestrian musical quality. His dramatic resignation in protest of the overburdened schedule of the RPO must keep was also traumatic for the orchestra. Stability was returned to the ensemble when Vladimir Ashkenazy became the group's music director and principal conductor in 1986. Under his tutelage, the orchestra began to recover some of the sensitivity and grace of line that it had during Beecham's tenure. Ashkenazy was also instrumental in the development of the RPO exclusive record label which helped to secure the orchestra's financial and artistic future. After his departure in 1994, Daniele Gatti succeeded Ashkenazy as principal conductor. His youthful energy and expertise in Italian repertoire have given the RPO a new direction for the twenty-first century.

Throughout its rather turbulent history, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra has been able to retain its place in London's competitive musical circles. With its leanings toward the pop music industry and its extensive recording and touring schedules, the Royal Philharmonic is likely to remain one of the busiest and most popular orchestras in the United Kingdom.