Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The reigning monarch is at the apex of the Royal Victorian Order as its Sovereign, followed by the Grand Master; the latter position was created in 1937 and was occupied by Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) from that date until her death in 2002.
The order has had a chancellor and a secretary since it was founded; the former office is held ex officio by the Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Household, while the office of secretary has been held ex officio by the Keeper of the Privy Purse (except for the years 1936 to 1943 when the King's Private Secretary was also the order's secretary).
[1] [2] The order was officially created and instituted on 23 April 1896 by letters patent under the Great Seal of the Realm by Queen Victoria. [3] It was instituted with five grades, Knight Grand Cross (GCVO), Knight Commander (KCVO), Commander (CVO), Member (fourth class) and Member (fifth class) , the last two of which were abbreviated to MVO.
The Royal Victorian Order is an order of knighthood awarded by the sovereign of the United Kingdom and several Commonwealth realms. It is granted personally by the monarch and recognises personal service to the monarchy, the Royal Household , royal family members, and the organisation of important royal events.
Queen Victoria appointed 19 Knights Grand Cross, plus an additional 28 honorary Knights Grand Cross, between the order's institution and her death on 22 January 1901; of those 19, six were to Princes of the United Kingdom—her own children, grandchildren or other close relatives—and a further seven to those already holding a peerage. [9]
The Sovereign, Great Master, and the Knights and Dames Grand Cross are allotted stalls in the choir of the chapel, above which their heraldic devices are displayed. Every four years, an installation ceremony, presided over by the Great Master, and a religious service are held in the chapel.
Royal Victorian Order (KCVO/DCVO) Order of the British Empire (KBE/DBE) Knights Commander and Dames Commander rank behind the most senior rank in each order, that of Knight Grand Cross. The third most senior rank in each order is Companion (CB, CSI, CMG, CIE), Knight (KH) or Commander (CVO, CBE). Insignia include a breast star, and a badge on a ...
If an order is granted statehood and thus widely considered sovereign, the Grand Master is also its Head of State. If within the Holy Roman Empire , a Reichsfürst and Head of Government , and thus a true territorial Prince of the church , as was the case with the Teutonic Knights and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta .