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12 unusual facts about Order of the Garter


Adolphus Frederick IV, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

In 1764 Adolphus Frederick was installed as a member of the Order of the Garter.

Australian one-dollar note

The note features Queen Elizabeth II wearing Garter robes on the obverse with the Australian Coat of Arms.

Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

After Minden, King George II of Great Britain gave the duke the Order of the Garter, and the thanks of the British parliament were voted on the same occasion to the victor of Minden.

Frederick William, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

On 12 August 1862 Friedrich Wilhelm was made a Knight of the Order of the Garter by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

Frederick William, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, KG (17 October 1819 – 30 May 1904) was a German sovereign who ruled over the state of Mecklenburg-Strelitz from 1860 until his death.

Geoffroi de Charny

Geoffroi was a knight in the service of King Jean II of France and a founding member of the Order of the Star, an order of chivalry founded on 6 November 1351 by Jean II of France similar to the Order of the Garter (1347) by Edward III of England.

Harold Wilson bibliography

James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was one of the most prominent British politicians of the 20th century.

Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar

The Shah visited the United Kingdom in August 1902 on the promise of receiving the Order of the Garter as it had been previously given to his father, Nasser-ed-Din Shah.

Order of St. Andrew

The colour of the sash differs from the colour of the Imperial era, and resembles the shade of the sash of the British Order of the Garter.

He witnessed first hand the awards ceremonies for England's Order of the Garter and Austria's Order of the Golden Fleece and noticed the loyalty and pride of the awardees.

Sub Arturo plebs

From various political allusions in the text, in connection with what is known about the named musicians, Brian Trowell and Ursula Günther have conjectured that the work was written for a specific historical event, the festivities at Windsor Castle on St. George's Day, 1358, when the knights of the Order of the Garter gathered to celebrate the English victory at the Battle of Poitiers two years earlier.

The first words of the text refer to a ruler under the legendary name of "Arturus" (i.e. Arthur), apparently an allusion to king Edward III (reigned 1327 – 1377), who liked to see his role as the founder of the Order of the Garter likened to that of the legendary Arthur.


Baron Hungerford

It was created on 7 January 1426 for Walter Hungerford, who was summoned to parliament, had been Member of Parliament, Speaker of the House and invested as Knight of the Order of the Garter before and was made Lord High Treasurer one year before he became a peer.

Benjamin Hoadly

William Hogarth (1697–1764) painted his portrait as Bishop of Winchester and "Prelate of the Most Noble Order of the Garter" about 1743, etched by Bernard Baron (1696–1762).

Brigade of Guards

Its motto is Honi soit qui mal y pense (Old French), "Shamed be whoever thinks poorly of it", which is also the motto of the Order of the Garter.

Edmund Sutton

Sutton was born in Dudley, the eldest son of John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley, KG, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Berkeley.

Edward Chamberlayne

At the Restoration he returned to England, in 1669 became secretary to Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle, and went to Stockholm to invest Charles XI of Sweden with the Order of the Garter.

Edward le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer

Edward le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer, KG (also called Despenser) (c. 24 March 1335 or 1336 – 11 November 1375) was the son of another Edward le Despenser and Anne, the sister of Henry, Lord Ferrers of Groby.

Francis William Wilkin

The Order of the Garter star, the Waterloo Medal and the Hussars uniform, clearly identify this as a portrait of Paget.

François de Montmorency

It was on this occasion that he was created an Honorary Knight of the Order of the Garter.

George Keppel, 3rd Earl of Albemarle

General George Keppel, 3rd Earl of Albemarle KG PC (London, 8 April 1724 – 13 October 1772), styled Viscount Bury until 1754, was a British soldier nobleman best known for his capture of Havana in 1762 during the Seven Years' War.

Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent

Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent, KG PC (1671 – 5 June 1740) was a British politician and courtier.

Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland

Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, 4th Baron Percy, titular King of Mann, KG, Lord Marshal (10 November 1341 – 20 February 1408) was the son of Henry de Percy, 3rd Baron Percy, and a descendent of Henry III of England.

Henry St George, the younger

As deputy to Sir Edward Walker, Garter Principal King of Arms, he went on a mission to Stockholm and on 29 July 1669 invested the king of Sweden with the Order of the Garter.

John Lambton, 3rd Earl of Durham

John George Lambton, 3rd Earl of Durham KG, GCVO, PC (19 June 1855 – 18 September 1928), known as Viscount Lambton until 1879, was a British peer.

John Manners, 5th Duke of Rutland

John Henry Manners, 5th Duke of Rutland KG (4 January 1778 – 20 January 1857), styled Lord Roos from 1778 until 1779 and Marquess of Granby from 1779 until 1787, was a British landowner as well as an owner and breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses.

John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford

John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford, KG, PC, JP (c. 1485 – 14 March 1554/1555) was an English royal minister in the Tudor era.

Marie I de Coucy, Countess of Soissons

When Marie was about a month old, she accompanied her parents to England, where on 11 May 1366 her father received the title of Earl of Bedford and was inducted into the Order of the Garter.

Richard de Vere, 11th Earl of Oxford

In May 1416 Oxford was invested with the Order of the Garter, and in that year sailed with the fleet to relieve Harfleur, taking part in the naval battle at the mouth of the Seine on 15 August.

The Grove, Watford

The fourth earl was a statesman, diplomat (architect of the Quadruple Alliance of 1834), Lord Privy Seal, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, President of the Board of Trade, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Knight of the Garter, Knight Grand Cross of the Bath, and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

The Society of the Friends of St George's and Descendants of the Knights of the Garter

The society includes more than 5,100 members worldwide (including more than 900 AmFriends members of the American Friends of St George's and Descendants of the Knights of the Garter Inc.) to "protect, preserve and enhance" the college, its St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle and the royal chivalric knighthood, the Order of the Garter.

Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk

Admiral Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, KG, PC (24 August 1561 – 28 May 1626) was a son of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk by his second wife Margaret Audley, Duchess of Norfolk, the daughter and heiress of the 1st Baron Audley of Walden.

Thomas Howard, 3rd Viscount Howard of Bindon

He was a Knight of the Garter, Lord Lieutenant of Dorset 25 April 1601 – 1 March 1611, Custos Rotulorum of Dorset before 1605–1611, and Vice-Admiral of Dorset 1603–1611.

Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex

Walter Devereux was the eldest son of Sir Richard Devereux, who was admitted to the Order of the Garter on 20 February 1548 and died in the same year, in the lifetime of his father, Walter Devereux, 1st Viscount Hereford.

Walter Hungerford, 1st Baron Hungerford

Walter Hungerford, 1st Baron Hungerford KG (1378–1449) was an English knight, landowner, from 1400 to 1414 Member of the House of Commons, of which he became Speaker, then was an Admiral and peer.

William Paget, 1st Baron Paget

William Paget, 1st Baron Paget of Beaudesert KG PC (1506 – 9 June 1563), was an English statesman and accountant who held prominent positions in the service of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I.

William Sandys, 1st Baron Sandys

He was made a Knight of the Garter the following year and was apparently instrumental in organising the Royal meeting at the Field of the Cloth of Gold.

William Segar

In 1596, Segar accompanied the Earl of Shrewsbury to invest Henry IV of France with the Order of the Garter, witnessing Henry's famed Royal entry into Rouen.