Knight of the Garter

Knight of the Garter
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Name	Order of the Garter
Established	1348
Founder	Edward III of England
Type	Order of Chivalry
Motto	"Honi soit qui mal y pense"
Headquarters	Windsor Castle
Chapel	St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
Sovereign	Charles III

Knight of the Garter is the title bestowed on recipients of the Order of the Garter, the senior order of chivalry founded in 1348 by Edward III of England. The order, headquartered at Windsor Castle and centred on St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, ranks above other British honours such as the Order of the Bath, the Order of St Michael and St George, and the Order of the British Empire. Membership traditionally includes British monarchs and eminent statesmen, military leaders, judges, and foreign monarchs such as recipients from France, Japan, Spain, and Norway.

History

The origin of the Order traces to the reign of Edward III of England and his campaigns during the Hundred Years' War against the Kingdom of France and interactions with magnates like Edward the Black Prince and John of Gaunt. Early members included Henry of Grosmont, William de Bohun, and Walter de Mauny. The medieval institution evolved through the Tudor era under Henry VIII of England and received reforms in the Hanoverian period under George I of Great Britain and George III. During the Napoleonic Wars contemporaries such as Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington and Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson gained prominence; later Victorian figures included Queen Victoria, Benjamin Disraeli, and William Ewart Gladstone. The order adapted across constitutional shifts involving Glorious Revolution, the Act of Union 1707, and the establishment of modern honours with cabinets including Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee consulting monarchs like George VI and Elizabeth II.

Eligibility and Appointment

Appointments are made by the Sovereign, currently Charles III, on the advice of ministers and occasionally as personal selections reflecting royal prerogative. The Statutes allow the Sovereign to nominate up to 24 Companion members plus supernumerary members drawn from royals and foreign monarchs including Harald V of Norway, Juan Carlos I of Spain, and Akihito of Japan. Appointees have included prime ministers such as Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, David Cameron, Theresa May, and Boris Johnson, as well as jurists like Lord Denning and cultural figures such as W. H. Auden or military commanders like Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein and Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig. Foreign Heads of State like Dwight D. Eisenhower, Charles de Gaulle, Nelson Mandela, and Barack Obama have been made supernumerary Knights or Ladies.

Insignia and Regalia

Insignia include the Garter, a blue ribbon worn on ceremonial occasions, the Great George, and the Star of the Order. Members wear elaborate robes and mantles fashioned for ceremonies at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle; regalia historically crafted by goldsmiths such as Paul Storr and jewelers patronized by George IV and Victoria. The emblem displays the motto "Honi soit qui mal y pense" surrounding a depiction of Saint George and the Dragon, linking the insignia to crusading imagery akin to that seen in heraldry of Richard I of England and Edward I of England. Parliamentary and state events see robes maintained in royal collections alongside banners and stall plates bearing arms of figures like Thomas Becket and later names such as John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough.

Roles and Duties

Knights and Ladies of the order historically served as royal advisors, military commanders, and ceremonial officers, mirroring duties performed by figures like Henry V of England or Edward, the Black Prince in medieval campaigns. In modern constitutional practice members such as Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, and Harold Macmillan have acted as senior statesmen consulted on honours and protocol, while military inductees like Admiral Sir John Jellicoe have contributed to defence discourse. The order participates in state occasions including investitures, state funerals, and the State Opening of Parliament, where peers and appointees interact with senior officials such as The Lord Chancellor, The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and ambassadors from nations including United States, Germany, and India.

Chapel and Ceremonies

The spiritual home is St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, where annual Garter Day processions and services feature the Sovereign, Knights, Ladies, and the Order's Officers such as the Garter Principal King of Arms and Heralds. Ceremonies involve installation at stalls marked with stall plates bearing heraldic devices similar to those of medieval magnates like Thomas, Duke of Clarence and later peers like Duke of Wellington. Historical records link ceremonies to state occasions like coronations of George VI and Elizabeth II and to diplomatic receptions attended by envoys from France, Italy, Russia, and China. The Garter procession, heraldic display, and chapel services maintain liturgical music traditions related to composers patronized by monarchs including Henry Purcell and George Frideric Handel.

Notable Members and Lists

Notable historic members include Edward, the Black Prince, John of Gaunt, William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Mahatma Gandhi is not a member but contemporaneous lists reference international figures such as Charles de Gaulle, Nelson Mandela, Shah of Iran, Otto von Bismarck in discursive histories. Modern lists of Companions include statesmen and royals such as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II as Sovereign, and foreign royals like Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. Comprehensive catalogues compile names from medieval knights like Robert de Vere through Tudor courtiers like Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk to twentieth-century figures such as Edward VIII and George VI and contemporary appointees from across the Commonwealth and allied states.

Category:British honours