History

The Noble Order of The Garter

The Most Noble Order of the Garter was founded by Edward III in 1348 and is the most senior British Order of Chivalry and as such quite possibly the oldest order in the world.
  Members of the Most Noble Order of the Garter are permitted to add KG after their name, or LG, Lady of the Garter.
  There follows pictures taken as Garter Knights process to St George's Chapel through the Lower Ward at Windsor Castle in 1980 and 1985.

Pictures from 1985

Pictures from 1980

Garter Knights and Ladies of the Garter in recent years

Announcements of the creation of new Garter Knights always takes place on St George's Day, 23rd April. In 200, the Queen appointed Prince William as a Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. Prince William becomes the 1000th Knight in the Register. The Queen also appointed Lord Luce, GCVO, DL and Sir Thomas Dunne, KCVO, to be Garter Knights. Lord Luce was Lord Chamberlain from 2000 to 2006. Sir Thomas Dunne has been Lord-Lieutenant of Hereford since 1977 and Chairman of the Lord Lieutenants Association.

Members of the Royal family are additional to the established number of 24 Companions. The Duke of Edinburgh was created a Knight in 1947 by King George VI, The Prince of Wales in 1958, The Duke of Kent in 1985, The Princess Royal in 1994, The Duke of Gloucester in 1997 and Princess Alexandra in 2003. The Duke of York and The Earl of Wessex were both created Knights in 2006.
  The appointment of the Knights and Ladies of the Garter is in The Queen's gift (i.e. without Prime Ministerial advice). Appointments to the Order of the Garter are therefore in the same category as the Order of the Thistle, the Order of Merit and the Royal Victorian Order which are also in The Queen's gift. Today's announcement brings the number of Companion Knights to the maximum number of 24.
  The new Knights will be invested in a private ceremony in Windsor Castle and then process to St George's Chapel for the Garter Service on Monday 16th June 2008.

HM Queen Elizabeth
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh  1947
HRH The Prince of Wales 1958
HRH The Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg 1972
HM Queen Margrethe of Denmark  1979
HM King Carl Gustaf of Sweden  1983
HRH The Duke of Kent 1985
HM King Juan Carlos of Spain  1988
HM Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands   1983
HRH The Princess Royal 1994
The Duke of Gloucester 1997
The Emperor of Japan 1998
HM King Harald of Norway 2001
HRH Princess Alexandra, The Hon. Lady Ogilvy 2003

The Duke of Grafton  1976
The Lord Richardson of Duntisbourne  1983
The Lord Carrington  1985
The Lord Callaghan of Cardiff  1987 (D. 26 March 2005)
The Duke of Wellington 1990
Field Marshal the Lord Bramall  1990
Sir Edward Heath  1992
The Viscount Ridley  1992
The Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover  1992
The Rt Hon Sir Ninian Stephen  1994
The Lord Kingsdown  1994
The Lord Ashburton  1994
The Baroness Thatcher  1995
Sir Timothy Colman  1996
The Duke of Abercorn  1999
Sir William Gladstone, Bt  1999
Field Marshal The Lord Inge  2001
Sir Antony Acland  2001
The Duke of Westminster  2003
The Right Honourable Lord Butler of Brockwell  2003
The Right Honourable Lord Morris of Aberavon  2003
Thomas Henry Bingham, The Lord Bingham of Cornhill, PC. Former Lord Chief Justice 2005
John Major, CH, PC. Former Prime Minister. 2005
Lady Mary Soames 2005
HRH The Duke of York 2006
HRH The Earl of Wessex 2006

Garter Service 1914 George V

In 2002 we came across this photograph of the royal party returning to the Upper Ward following the Garter Service of 1914. In this year three Garter Knights were created, Christian X, King of Denmark (1870-1947), William (Lygon), 7th Earl Beauchamp, Lord President of the Council and Albert I, King of the Belgians (1875-1934).
  The interesting feature is that so few members of the public were present. Towards the end of the 20th century thousands of spectators lined the route, totally filling all the lawn areas, yet in those days the crowd was hardly more than than 2-3 deep. Even in the 1950s and 60s, it was essential to start queuing quite early in the morning, perhaps as early as 8.00am, in order to secure a good viewing position in the Lower Ward, even though the procession to St George's Chapel was not due to pass until the early afternoon.
  This card was sent by Annie White to her friend or relation, Evaline, and mentions Ted, presumably Annie's husband, and Clara, presumably her daughter. The marks on the photo, upper centre, show where Annie and her daughter watched the procession!
  After 1914 there was no Garter Procession or service for 23 years until George VI reinstated the ceremony in 1937. Below we reproduce a photograph of the two young princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret, walking down to the Chapel on June 14 of that year. Time magazine reported that they were wearing pink and that The Duke of Connaught, at age 87, was not able to attend the service, but watched the procession from a car. Also absent was The Duke of Windsor, the former Edward VIII, who had abdicated the throne just seven months earlier.

A note about the weather. Spare a thought for the Lifeguards in their heavy metal breast plates, and the guardsmen in the bearskins, lining the route. They are required to stand for several hours in the hot sun in mid-June. I myself have seen guardsmen fall to the ground through heat exhaustion as they stand motionless.

The Royal Windsor Home Page	Quality Embroidered Badges	The Golden Jubilee Information Page
Additional Garter Background from HeraldicSculptor.com		State Visits in Windsor

To contact us, email Thamesweb.

---