Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom
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:
Appointments to the various orders and awards of other honours are usually published in The London Gazette.
Brief history[edit]
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.
Other honours and appointments[edit]
Hereditary peerage[edit]
There are five ranks of hereditary peerage: duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron. Until the mid-20th century, peerages were usually hereditary. Until the end of the 20th century, English, Scottish, British, and UK peerages (except, until very recent times, those for the time being held by women) carried the right to a seat in the House of Lords.
Hereditary peerages are now normally given only to Royal Family members. The most recent were the grants to: then-Queen Elizabeth's youngest son, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, on his marriage in 1999; the Queen's grandson Prince William, made the Duke of Cambridge on the morning before his marriage to Catherine Middleton on 29 April 2011; and the Queen's grandson Prince Harry, made the Duke of Sussex on the morning before his marriage to Meghan Markle on 19 May 2018. No hereditary peerages were granted to commoners after the Labour Party came to power in 1964, until Margaret Thatcher tentatively reintroduced them by two grants to men with no sons in 1983: Speaker of the House of Commons George Thomas; and former deputy prime minister William Whitelaw. Both titles died with their holders. She followed this with an earldom in 1984 for former prime minister Harold Macmillan not long before his death, reviving a traditional honour for former prime ministers. Macmillan's grandson succeeded him on his death in 1986. No hereditary peerages have been created since, and Thatcher's own title was a life peerage (see further explanation below). The concession of a baronetcy (i.e., hereditary knighthood), was granted to her husband Denis following her resignation (explained below).
Hereditary peerages are not "honours under the crown" and cannot normally be withdrawn. A peerage can be revoked only by a specific Act of Parliament, and then only for the current holder, in the case of hereditary peerages. A hereditary peer can disclaim his peerage for his own lifetime under Peerage Act 1963 within a year of inheriting the title.
Life peerage[edit]
Modern life peerages were introduced under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876, following a test case, the Wensleydale Peerage Case (1856), which established that non-statutory life peers would not have the right to sit in the House of Lords. At that time, life peerages were intended only for law lords, who would introduce appellate legal expertise into the chamber without conferring rights on future generations, which might not have legal experts.
Subsequently, under the Life Peerages Act 1958, life peerages became the norm for all new grants outside the Royal Family. This was viewed as a modest reform of the second legislative chamber. However, its effects were gradual because hereditary peers and their successors retained their rights to attend and vote with the life peers. All hereditary peers, except 92 chosen in a secret ballot of all hereditary peers, have now lost their rights to sit in the second chamber. All hereditary peers, however, retain dining rights to the House of Lords, viewed as "the best club in London".
All life peers hold the rank of baron and automatically have the right to sit in the House of Lords. The title exists only for the duration of their own lifetime and is not passed to their heirs, although the children of life peers enjoy the same courtesy titles as those of hereditary peers. Some life peerages are created as an honour for achievement, some for the specific purpose of introducing legislators from the various political parties (known as working peers), and some under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876, with a view to judicial work. There is a discrete number appointed as "People's Peers", recommended by the general public. Twenty-six Church of England bishops have a seat in the House of Lords.
As a life peerage is not technically an "honour under the Crown", it cannot normally be withdrawn once granted. Thus, while knighthoods have been withdrawn as "honours under the Crown", convicted criminals who have served their sentences have returned to the House of Lords. In the case of Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare, he has chosen only to exercise dining rights and has not spoken in Parliament since released from his perjury conviction.
Baronetcy[edit]
A baronetcy is the lowest hereditary title in the United Kingdom. It carries the title sir. In order of precedence, a Baronetcy is below a Barony but above most knighthoods.[23] Baronetcies are not peerages. When a baronetcy becomes vacant on the holder's death, the heir is required to register the proofs of succession if he wishes to be addressed as "Sir". The Official Roll of Baronets is kept at the Ministry of Justice, transferred from the Home Office in 2001, by the Registrar of the Baronetage. Anyone who considers that he is entitled to be entered on the roll may petition the Crown through the Lord Chancellor. Anyone succeeding to a baronetcy must exhibit proofs of succession to the Lord Chancellor.[24] A person who is not entered on the roll will not be addressed or mentioned as a baronet or accorded precedence as a baronet, effectively declining the honour. The baronetcy can be revived at any time on provision of acceptable proofs of succession.[25] As of 2017, 208 baronetcies are listed as presumedly not extinct but awaiting proofs of succession.[26]
As with hereditary peerages, baronetcies generally ceased to be granted after the Labour Party came to power in 1964. The sole subsequent exception was a baronetcy created in 1990 for the husband of Margaret Thatcher, Sir Denis Thatcher, later inherited by their son Mark Thatcher.
Ceremony[edit]
Each year, around 2,600 people receive their awards personally from the monarch or another member of the Royal Family. The majority of investitures take place at Buckingham Palace, but an annual ceremony also takes place at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh (during Holyrood Week), and some happen at Windsor Castle. There are approximately 120 recipients at each Investiture. In recent years the King, the Prince of Wales and The Princess Royal have all held investitures.
During the ceremony, the monarch enters the ballroom of Buckingham Palace attended by two Gurkha orderly officers, a tradition begun in 1876 by Queen Victoria. On duty on the dais are five members of the King's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard, which was created in 1485 by Henry VII; they are the oldest, but not most senior, military corps in the United Kingdom. Three Lady or Gentleman Ushers are on duty to help look after the recipients and their guests.
The King or his representative is escorted by either the Lord Chamberlain or the Lord Steward. After the national anthem has been played, he stands to the right of the King and announces the name of each recipient and the achievement for which they are being decorated. The King or his representative is provided with a brief background for each recipient by their equerry as they approach to receive their decorations.
Men who are to be knighted kneel on an investiture stool to receive the accolade, which the King bestows. Elizabeth II used the sword used by her father, George VI as Duke of York and Colonel of the Scots Guards. Only men are knighted. Women receive their honours in the same fashion as men receiving decorations or medals, even if they are receiving a damehood. Occasionally an award for gallantry may be made posthumously and in this case, the King or his representative presents the decoration or medal to the recipient's next-of-kin in private before the public investiture begins. The Elizabeth Cross was created especially for this purpose.
After the investiture ceremony, those honoured are ushered out of the ballroom into the Inner Quadrangle of Buckingham Palace, where the royal rota's photographers are stationed. Here recipients are photographed with their awards. In some cases, members of the press may interview some of the more well-known people who have been honoured.
Style[edit]
For peers, see forms of address in the United Kingdom.
For baronets, the style Sir John Smith, Bt (or Bart) is used. Their wives are styled Lady Smith. A baronetess is styled Dame Jane Smith, Btss.
For knights, the style Sir John Smith [postnominals] is used, attaching the proper postnominal letters depending on rank and order (for knights bachelor, no postnominal letters are used). Their wives are styled Lady Smith, with no postnominal letters. A dame is styled Dame Jane Smith, [postnominals]. More familiar references or oral addresses use the first name only, e.g. Sir John, or Dame Joan.
Wives of knights and baronets are styled Lady Smith, although customarily no courtesy title is automatically reciprocated to male consorts.
Recipients of orders, decorations and medals receive no styling of Sir or Dame, but they may attach the according postnominal letters to their name, e.g., John Smith, VC. Recipients of gallantry awards may be referred to in Parliament as "gallant", in addition to "honourable", "noble", etc.: The honourable and gallant Gentleman.
Bailiffs or Dames Grand Cross (GCStJ), Knights/Dames of Justice/Grace (KStJ/DStJ), Commander Brothers/Sisters (CStJ), Officer Brothers/Sisters (OStJ), Serving Brothers/Sisters (SBStJ/SSStJ), and Esquires (EsqStJ) of the Order of St John do not receive any special styling with regards to prenominal address i.e. Sir or Dame. They may, however, attach the relevant postnominal initials (solely) within internal correspondence of the Order. In the Priory of Australia, Canada and the United States, the rank of Serving Brother/Sister is no longer granted. The rank now awarded is referred to as Member of the Order of St John for both men and women.
For honours bestowed upon those in the entertainment industry (e.g., Anthony Hopkins, Maggie Smith), it is an accepted practice to omit the title for professional credits.[47]
Controversies[edit]
A scandal in the 1920s was the sale by Maundy Gregory of honours and peerages to raise political funds for David Lloyd George.
In 1976, the Harold Wilson era was mired by controversy over the 1976 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours, which became known as the "Lavender List".
In 2006, The Sunday Times newspaper revealed that every donor who had given £1,000,000 or more to the Labour Party since 1997 was given a Knighthood or a Peerage (see Cash-for-Honours scandal). Moreover, the government had given honours to 12 of the 14 individuals who have donated more than £200,000 to Labour and of the 22 who donated more than £100,000, 17 received honours. An investigation by the Crown Prosecution Service did not lead to any charges being made.
The Times published an analysis of the recipients of honours in December 2015 which showed that 46% of those getting knighthoods and above in 2015 had been to fee-paying public schools. In 1955 it was 50%. Only 6.55% of the population attends such schools. 27% had been to Oxford or Cambridge universities (18% in 1955).[51]