Royal Jewels to Celebrate the Order of the Garter in Windsor

Most longtime readers here will be very familiar with the Order of the Garter, but it’s worth taking a look at the origins of the prestigious club. King Edward III of England founded the Order of the Garter way back in 1348. As with most medieval traditions, there’s a grand legend surrounding the order’s creation, which, though it’s likely not true, is suitably romantic.

At a ball in Calais—back in the days when English kings were still claiming France—King Edward was dancing with Joan, Countess of Salisbury, when one of her garters slipped down her leg and fell on the floor. Supposedly Edward picked it up and put it on his own leg, and then wagged his fingers at snickering courtiers, declaring “Honi soit qui mal y pense.” That phrase—which basically means “shame on him who thinks evil of it”—became the motto of the new chivalric order.

Really, the establishment of the Order of the Garter probably had much more to do with an attempt to cement power and position by linking Edward III’s reign to a nostalgic past of Arthurian legend. Edward’s initial roster of knights numbered twenty-four: twelve knights companion for the king, and twelve for the Prince of Wales. Even today, the number of knights and ladies of the order is limited to twenty-four. However, that number does not include the monarch, the Prince of Wales, “supernumerary” knights and ladies (generally members of the British royal family), and “extra” knights and ladies (generally foreign monarchs and royals).

The current sovereign of the order, King Charles III, has been a Garter knight since July 26, 1958, the same day that his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, made him Prince of Wales. The current Prince of Wales, Prince William, was appointed to the order by Elizabeth II on April 23, 2008. (The appointment, timed to coincide with St. George’s Day, made William the 1000th Knight of the Garter in the official register.) The royal supernumerary knights and ladies are Queen Camilla (2022), the Princess Royal (1994), the Duke of York (2006), the Duke of Edinburgh (2006), the Duke of Gloucester (1997), the Duke of Kent (1985), and Princess Alexandra (2003).

There are also eight “extra” or “stranger” knights and ladies companion of the order at present. They include five reigning sovereigns: Queen Margrethe II of Denmark (1979), King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (1983), King Harald V of Norway (2001), King Felipe VI of Spain (2017), and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands (2018). Three former monarchs, all of whom abdicated in favor of their sons, are also included in the roster: Emperor Akihito of Japan (1998), King Juan Carlos of Spain (1988), and Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands (1989).

The monarch himself gets to appoint new members to this chivalric order. That wasn’t always the case; from the eighteenth century until 1946, Garter knights were appointed on the advice of the government (the same way that people are made members of the Order of the British Empire today). But this chivalric order is now the gift of the monarch, just as it was centuries ago. Two new members of the order, Baroness Ashton of Upholland and Baron Patten of Barnes, are being installed today. But that brings the current number of knights and ladies to just 18, with six more vacant spaces available.

The current roster includes lots of former politicians, plus others including high-ranking military officers, lords lieutenant, ambassadors, and aristocrats. With the appointment comes a fancy set of regalia to wear for occasions like Garter Day. Each member gets a velvet mantle and a velvet hat with a plume of white feathers. The riband (or sash) of the order is bright “kingfisher blue.”

And because this the Order of the Garter, after all, each knight/lady gets an actual garter. A lady wears hers around her upper left arm, while a knight straps his around his left calf. You’ll spot Queen Mary’s garter on her left arm in this portrait photograph. She’s also wearing her Garter sash and star, plus the Cambridge Sapphires, no doubt to coordinate with the kingfisher blue sash.

There’s more jewelry involved, too. The patron saint of the order is the famous dragon-slayer, St. George (who is also the patron saint of England). Each knight/lady receives two enameled figures of St. George on horseback in the midst of slaying the dragon. The smaller one (the “Lesser George”) is a badge that is worn suspended from the riband, and the larger one (the “Greater George”) is worn suspended from the golden collar. Each member also receives an eight-pointed star.

Today, King Charles III and Queen Camilla led the formal procession from the luncheon at Windsor Castle to the service at St. George’s Chapel for the first time during his reign.

Queen Camilla wore her favorite pair of earrings—diamond floral buttons with pearl drops—with her robes.

They were followed in the procession by the rest of the knights and ladies companion, including several of the royals. Here, you’ll spot the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Duke of Gloucester.

Princess Anne also wore pearls with her robes: the classic pearl and diamond button earrings that so resemble the ones beloved by her late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

The Duke of Kent was also in attendance, but he sensibly decided to allow himself to be chauffeured rather than make the difficult walk at his age.

Waiting for their spouses at the chapel were Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duchess of Gloucester, the Princess of Wales, and the Duchess of Edinburgh.

The Princess of Wales was elegant in black and white for this year’s service, wearing a white dress with black polka dots from Alessandra Rich with spectator pumps and a coordinating hat.

Princess Catherine accessorized with several pieces of jewelry that belonged to her late mother-in-law, Diana, Princess of Wales. These are Diana’s Collingwood Pearl Drop Earrings.

Kate also wore Diana’s Three-Row Pearl Bracelet, made in the 1980s by Nigel Milne, and (of course) her famous sapphire and diamond engagement ring.

Kate has often opted for black and white on Garter Day. For her very first appearance at the event, way back in June 2008 when she was still Kate Middleton, she wore a black and white polka-dot suit with a coordinating hat.

She also wore black and white (with the Collingwood earrings) for the service in June 2019. She was in good company that day, as Queen Letizia of Spain opted for a similar ensemble (with the astonishing joyas de pasar diamond earrings).

Kate also wore a very similar outfit at Royal Ascot last June, combined with a different pair of Diana’s earrings.

The Duchess of Edinburgh chose a vivid pink and green floral print dress for this year’s service.

She added several pieces of jewelry to her outfit as well. Her earrings, a double scroll design in diamonds, come from Collins & Sons. She’s worn a necklace from the same collection frequently of late, including an appearance at Trooping the Colour on Saturday. This time around, she wore a necklace of large baroque pearls with a modern diamond circle clasp.

The Duchess of Gloucester was elegant as always in light blue for the service.

She wore several pieces of fantastic heirloom jewelry for the occasion. She selected the pink topaz and diamond cluster earrings and pink topaz pendant from her collection, suspending the pendant from a single stranded pearl necklace. The gorgeous diamond clips on her collar come from a tiara that was a wedding gift to her mother-in-law, Princess Alice, in 1935. And she once again used her beautiful rock crystal and diamond circle brooches as “buttons,” this time at her waist.

And that’s it for this year’s Garter jewels! Be sure to drop by again throughout the day tomorrow, as we’ve got a tripleheader on deck: the first day of Royal Ascot, the start of the Dutch state visit to Belgium, and Kate reopening the National Portrait Gallery. I’ll have articles on each event published as soon as I’m able!