Claridge's was founded in 1812 as Mivart's Hotel, in a conventional London terraced house, and it grew by expanding into neighbouring houses. In 1854, the founder (the father of biologist St. George Jackson Mivart) sold the hotel to a Mr and Mrs Claridge, who owned a smaller hotel next door. They combined the two operations, and after trading for a time as "Mivart's late Claridge's", they settled on the current name. The reputation of the hotel was confirmed in 1860 when Empress Eugenie made an extended visit and entertained Queen Victoria at the hotel
 
Interesting fact...
Suite 212 at Claridge’s Hotel in London was famously declared Yugoslavian territory for one day in 1945, reportedly on the orders of Winston Churchill, so that Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia could be born on his own country’s soil. The story says a clod of Yugoslavian earth was even placed under the bed for the occasion.