In the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories, personal bravery, achievement, or service are rewarded with honours. The honours system consists of three types of award:
Honours are used to recognise merit in terms of achievement and service; Decorations tend to be used to recognise specific deeds; Medals are used to recognise service on a particular operation or in a specific theatre, long or valuable service, and good conduct.
Awards of these and other honours are usually published in The Gazette.
Brief history Although the Anglo-Saxon monarchs are known to have rewarded their loyal subjects with rings and other symbols of favour, it was the Normans who introduced knighthoods as part of their feudal government. The first English order of chivalry, the Order of the Garter, was created in 1348 by Edward III. Since then, the system has evolved to address the changing need to recognise other forms of service to the United Kingdom.
System As the head of state, the Sovereign is the fount of honour, but the system for identifying and recognising candidates to honour has changed considerably over time. Various orders of knighthood have been created (see below) as well as awards for military service, bravery, merit, and achievement which take the form of decorations or medals. Most medals are not graded. Each one recognises specific service so there are normally set criteria which must be met. These criteria may include a period of time and will often delimit a particular geographic region. Medals are not normally presented by the Sovereign. A full list is printed in the "order of wear", published (infrequently) by The London Gazette.
Orders of honours Honours are split into classes ("orders") and are graded to distinguish different degrees of achievement or service, according to various criteria. Nominations are reviewed by honours committees made up of government officials and private citizens from different fields, who meet twice a year to discuss the candidates and make recommendations for appropriate honours to be awarded by the Sovereign.
Selection and nomination
New Year and Birthday honours
A list of approximately 1,350 names is published twice a year, at the New Year and on the date of the Sovereign's (official) birthday. Since decisions are inevitably subjective, the twice-yearly honours lists often provoke criticism from those who feel strongly about particular cases. Candidates are identified by public or private bodies, by government departments, or are nominated by members of the public. Depending on their roles, those people selected by the honours committee are submitted either to the Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, or Secretary of State for Defence for their approval before being sent to the Sovereign for final approval. Certain honours are conferred solely at the Sovereign's discretion, such as appointments to the Order of the Garter, the Order of the Thistle, the Royal Victorian Order, and the Order of Merit. The honours' insignia are then presented by the Sovereign or his representative at investitures held at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle or the Palace of Holyroodhouse; Prince Charles, Prince William and Princess Anne deputised for Queen Elizabeth II with William and Anne continuing to do so for King Charles III since his September 2022 accession.
Prime Minister's Resignation Honours By convention, a departing prime minister is allowed to nominate Prime Minister's Resignation Honours, to reward political and personal service. In recent history, only Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have not taken up this privilege (although Brown did issue the 2010 Dissolution Honours).
Special Honours
Crown Honours Lists
Orders of chivalry
Current orders The current system is made up of six orders of chivalry and four orders of merit. The statutes of each order specify matters such as the size of the order, the use of post-nominal letters and insignia design and display. These are ordered by the order of wear.
Complete name Ranks (letters)Ribbon Established Founder Motto Awarded to/for/by Associated awards Most Noble Order of the Garter Knight Companion (KG)Lady Companion (LG) 23 April 1348 King Edward III ("Shame upon him who thinks evil of it") Relating to England, Wales and Northern Ireland.Appointments are made at the Sovereign's sole discretion. Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle Knight (KT)Lady (LT) 29 May 1687 King James VII & II ("No one provokes me with impunity") Relating to Scotland.Appointments are made at the Sovereign's sole discretion. Most Honourable Order of the Bath Knight/Dame Grand Cross (GCB)Knight/Dame Commander (KCB/DCB)Companion (CB) 18 May 1725 King George I ("Three joined in one") Civil division: senior civil servants; Military division: senior military officers.The Sovereign makes all appointments to the Order on the advice of the Government. Order of the Bath Statutes, 27 May 1725. Order of the Bath Royal Order, 2 January 1815. Order of the Bath Letters Patent and Statutes, 24 May 1847.Order of MeritMember (OM)23 June 1902King Edward VII"For merit"Military, science, art, literature, culture.Members are personally appointed by the Sovereign with the assistance of their private secretaries. Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George Knight/Dame Grand Cross (GCMG)Knight/Dame Commander (KCMG/DCMG)Companion (CMG) 28 April 1818 George, Prince Regent ("Token of a better age") Diplomats and colonial service.The Sovereign makes all appointments to the Order on the advice of the Government.Galloway (2000) Royal Victorian Order Knight/Dame Grand Cross (GCVO)Knight/Dame Commander (KCVO/DCVO)Commander (CVO)Lieutenant (LVO)Member (MVO) 21 April 1896 Queen Victoria ("Victory") Services to the Crown.Appointments are made at the Sovereign's sole discretion. Royal Victorian Medal,Royal Victorian ChainGalloway, Royal Service (1996) Most Excellent Order of the British Empire Knight/Dame Grand Cross (GBE)Knight/Dame Commander (KBE/DBE)Commander (CBE)Officer (OBE)Member (MBE)Recipient [of the British Empire Medal] (BEM) 4 June 1917 King George V "For God and the Empire" Miscellaneous (military and civil).The Sovereign makes all appointments to the Order on the advice of the Government. British Empire Medal (incorporated fully into the Order in 2012) OBE Statutes 24 August 1917. Order of the Companions of Honour Member (CH) 4 June 1917 King George V "In action faithful and in honour clear" Arts, science, politics, industry, religion.The Sovereign makes all appointments to the Order on the advice of the Government.Galloway, Companions of Honour (2002) Distinguished Service Order Companion (DSO) – plus bars 6 September 1886 Queen Victoria Military officers for leadership while on active service.The Sovereign makes all appointments to the Order on the advice of the Government. DSO Royal Warrant and Statutes 6 November 1886 Imperial Service Order Companion (ISO) 8 August 1902 King Edward VII "For faithful service" Civil servant for 25 years (in administrative or clerical capacity) Imperial Service Medal
Dormant orders Orders were created for particular reasons at particular times. In some cases these reasons have ceased to have any validity and orders have fallen into abeyance, primarily due to the decline of the British Empire during the twentieth century. Reforms of the system have sometimes made other changes. For example, the British Empire Medal temporarily ceased to be awarded in the UK in 1993, as was the companion level award of the Imperial Service Order (although its medal is still used). The British Empire Medal was revived, however, in 2012 with 293 BEMs awarded for the 2012 Birthday Honours, and has continued to be awarded in some other Commonwealth nations. Complete name Ranks (letters) Ribbon Established Founder Motto Awarded to/forMost Illustrious Order of Saint PatrickKnight (KP)17 March 1783King George III("Who will separate us?")Relating to Ireland Most Exalted Order of the Star of India Knight Grand Commander (GCSI)Knight Commander (KCSI)Companion (CSI) 25 June 1861 Queen Victoria "Heaven's light our guide"Indian, Middle Eastern and Asian rulers, Viceroys, Governors and senioradministrators, Commanders-in-Chief, senior military officers and Indian civil servants Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire Knight Grand Commander (GCIE)Knight Commander (KCIE)Companion (CIE) 1 January 1878 Queen Victoria ("Under the auspices of the Empress")Imperial Order of the Crown of India Companion (CI) 1 January 1878 Queen Victoria British Princesses, wives or female relatives of Indian Princes and wives orfemale relatives of any person who holds or held the office of: Viceroy of India, Governor-General of India, Governor of Madras, Governor of Bombay, Governor of Bengal, Secretary of State for India, Commander-in-Chief in India. Order of Burma Member (OB) 10 May 1940 King George VI Long, faithful and honourable service of members of certain armed forces in Burma
The Order of St Patrick was founded in 1783 by George III for the Kingdom of Ireland, and after the Acts of Union 1800 continued for Irish peers in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. After the Irish Free State's secession in 1922, only members of the royal family were appointed to the order, the last in 1936. The last surviving knight was Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, who died on 10 June 1974. Although dormant, the order technically still exists, and may be used as an award at any time.
Princes or Chiefs; the Viceroy or Governor-General; the Governors of Bombay, Madras and Bengal; the Principal Secretary of State for India; and the Commander-in-Chief in India. Upon Indian independence in 1947, appointments to all these orders ceased.
Maharaja Tej Singh Prabhakar Bahadur of Alwar, who was a KCSI and the last surviving member of the Order of the Star of India, died in February 2009, aged 97. The last surviving member of the Order of the Indian Empire, HH Maharaja Meghrajji III of Dhrangadhra-Halvad, a KCIE, died in August 2010, aged 87. Queen Elizabeth II was appointed to the Order of the Crown of India (then as Princess Elizabeth) and was the last surviving former member of that order until her death in September 2022, aged 96.
The Order of Burma was created in May 1940 by King George VI of the United Kingdom to recognise subjects of the British colony of Burma (Myanmar) after it became a distinct colony, separate from British India. This order had one class which entitled the member to the postnominal letters OB but no title. It was originally intended to reward long and faithful service by military and police. In 1945, the Royal Warrant was altered to allow for membership for acts of gallantry as well as meritorious service. The Order was one of the rarest awarded with only 33 appointments by the time appointments were discontinued in 1948 when Burma declared independence.
Orders no longer associated with the British monarch Complete name Ranks (letters) Ribbon Established Founder Motto Awarded to/for Associated awards Royal Guelphic Order Knight Grand Cross (GCH)Knight Commander (KCH)Knight (KH) 28 April 1815Defunct 1841 (British order)Since 1841 (Hanoverian House Order) Prince George, Prince Regent ("Not afraid of difficulties") At the monarch's pleasure