Cleopatra's Needle originated in the ancient Egyptian city of Heliopolis, in the Temple of Atum, but the Romans moved it to Alexandria in 12 BC. In 1819, viceroy Mehemet Ali presented Cleopatra's Needle to the British, commemorating military victories in Egypt, but it remained in Alexandria until 1877 when transportation was arranged to bring it to London. On the voyage, the ship capsized in a storm, killing six crewmembers. Cleopatra's Needle was thought to be lost, but Spanish trawlers found it afloat a few days later, and after some repairs, it arrived in London on 21 Jan 1878. The obelisk is flanked by two faux-sphinxes, which show the effects of bombings of London during World War II. Today, Cleopatra's Needle shows some wear from exposure to London's damp weather.

Cleopatra's Needle in London is one of a pair of obelisks, together named Cleopatra's Needles, that were moved from the ruins of the Caesareum of Alexandria in Egypt, in the 19th century. Inscribed by Thutmose III and later Ramesses II of the Egyptian New Kingdom, the obelisk was moved in 12 BC to Alexandria, where it remained for over 1,800 years. It was presented to the Prince Regent in 1819 by the ruler of Egypt, Muhammad Ali, as a diplomatic gift to mark British victories over the French in Egypt, namely the Battle of the Nile in 1798 and the 2nd Battle of Alexandria in 1801. Although the British government welcomed the gesture, it declined to pay to move the obelisk to London. It was subsequently erected in the West End of London on the Victoria Embankment in Westminster, in 1878.