107-409: Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry , KG , GCH , PC , PC (Ire) (18 June 1769 – 12 August 1822), usually known as Lord Castlereagh , derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh ( UK : / ˈ k ɑː s əl r eɪ / KAH -səl-ray ) by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was an Irish -born British statesman and politician. As secretary to
214-604: A Presbyterian (a "Dissenter"), rather than a member of the established Anglican Communion (the Church of Ireland ), Castlereagh's father, Robert Stewart, had an easy reputation as a friend of reform. In 1771, and again in 1776, he was elected from County Down to the Irish House of Commons . In 1778 he joined the Irish Volunteer movement , raising an armed and drilled company from his estates. In parliament and among
321-674: A Royal Peculiar , was not under diocesan jurisdiction. The office of Chancellor was removed from the Bishop of Oxford (the outgoing bishop, Thomas Strong , had been outspoken in the Edward VIII abdication crisis ), and so it was withheld from his successor, Kenneth Kirk , and has since been held by one of the Knights and Ladies Companion. The office of Register has been held by the Dean of Windsor since 1558. The Garter Principal King of Arms
428-476: A cocked hat with a plume , and a sword on a white baldric. For the Order's ceremonial occasions, such as the annual Garter Day, the members wear elaborate vestments and accoutrements , which include: Up until the middle part of the 20th century, it was customary to wear Tudor style under-dress, consisting of white silk embroidered doublet , breeches , full hose , white doeskin pumps with satin bows and
535-867: A state visit to the United Kingdom. The Emperor was particularly pleased by the restoration to the Garter. The Order has six officers: the Prelate , the Chancellor , the Register, the Garter Principal King of Arms , the Usher , and the Secretary. The offices of Prelate, Register, and Usher were created on the order's establishment; those of Garter Principal King of Arms and Chancellor, in
642-456: A Scottish family settled in Donegal whose fortunes had been transformed by the marriage of Castlereagh's grandfather Alexander Stewart to an East India Company heiress. The legacy from Robert Cowan , the former Governor of Bombay , allowed for the purchase of extensive properties in north Down including the future family demesne , Mount Stewart , on the shores of Strangford Lough . As
749-685: A declaration of martial law he was made both a Lord of the Treasury and a Member of the Privy Council of Ireland (1797–1800). At the urging of Camden, Castlereagh assumed many of the onerous duties of the often-absent Chief Secretary for Ireland , who was responsible for day-to-day administration and for asserting the influence of Dublin Castle in the House of Commons. In this capacity, and after March 1798 as Acting Chief Secretary, Castlereagh played
856-603: A government-controlled rotten borough . Having conciliated the Downshires and able to ride the victories of Arthur Wellesley (future Duke of Wellington), the reputed Dubliner he had appointed to command in the Peninsular War , in 1812 Castlereagh avenged his humiliation, and recovered the family seat. After the renewal of the war against Napoleon , at the urging of Castlereagh and other long-time supporters in 1804 Pitt returned as Prime Minister. Castlereagh entered
963-547: A key role in crushing the United Irish rising when it came in May and June 1798 . In November 1798, Castlereagh was formally appointed to the office of Chief Secretary by Camden's successor, Lord Cornwallis . Castlereagh's general policy was to offer immediate clemency to the rebel rank-and-file, many of whom were then inducted into the yeomanry, while still focusing on the politically committed leadership. But already before
1070-515: A landing at Bantry Bay , but due only to contrary winds. As an officer in the militia, Castlereagh was well apprised of the lack of preparedness to meet a combination of professional French soldiery and the countrywide insurgency it would likely trigger. In February 1797, Castlereagh was at last appointed to the Dublin Castle administration as Keeper of the King's Signet for Ireland. Following
1177-576: A minority within the larger kingdom, would lower their expectations and moderate their demands. During the campaign for the Act of Union, both Castlereagh and Cornwallis had, in good faith, forwarded informal assurances they had received from Pitt's Cabinet to the Irish Catholics that they would be allowed to sit in the new United Kingdom Parliament. However, opposition in England, and not least from
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#17327797302781284-622: A seat for the Suffolk constituency of Orford , which was in the interest of his mother's family, the Seymour-Conways ( Marquess of Hertford ). He held these seats simultaneously with his county seat in Ireland. In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart , a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire , a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776–80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly,
1391-843: A similar scheme to the Catholic clergy met with stiffer resistance: priests would not accept support from the Crown while it continued to deny their communicants political equality. In Ireland, the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy was slow to forgive Castlereagh for the loss of their parliament. The Dowager Marchioness of Downshire broke her family's electoral truce with the Stewarts in County Down and in July 1805 forced Castlereagh to defend his (now Westminster) parliamentary seat. In
1498-426: A statute of Queen Elizabeth II, the installation of "Ladies Companion of the Garter" became possible. In 2022, Valerie Amos, Baroness Amos , became the first Black Lady Companion of the Order since its foundation. Eliza Manningham-Buller , Baroness Manningham-Buller, became the first Lady Companion to be appointed chancellor of the Order , on 18 June 2024. Membership in the Order is strictly limited and includes
1605-472: A sword belt with sword, under the robes. Nowadays, morning dress or a lounge suit is worn, except for coronations when Tudor under-dress is worn by the canopy-bearers. On other occasions when decorations are worn, the members wear simpler insignia: On the death of a member, the Lesser George and breast star are returned personally to the sovereign by the former member's nearest male relative, and
1712-502: A treaty based on vengeance and retaliation would upset a necessary balance of powers . France restored the Bourbons kings and her frontiers were restored to 1791 lines. Her British-occupied colonies were returned. In 1820 Castlereagh enunciated a policy of non-intervention, proposing that Britain hold herself aloof from continental affairs. After 1815, at home, Castlereagh supported repressive measures that linked him in public opinion to
1819-594: A visit to revolutionary France , Castlereagh recoiled from the democratic politics of his Presbyterian constituents in Ulster . Crossing the floor of the Irish Commons in support of the government, he took a leading role in detaining members of the republican conspiracy, the United Irishmen , his former political associates among them. After the 1798 Rebellion , as Chief Secretary for Ireland he pushed
1926-783: A worship service, before which the formal installation of the new knights takes place. While (then just) knights continued to be invested with their ensigns, the formal installation of knights at St George's Chapel ceased in 1805. Installation, along with the annual Garter service, returned in 1948; on the occasion of the order's 600th anniversary. Members are assigned positions in the order of precedence , coming before all others of knightly rank, and above baronets . The wives, sons, daughters and daughters-in-law of Knights Companion are also assigned precedence. Relatives of Ladies Companion are not, however, assigned any special positions. (Generally, individuals can derive precedence from their fathers or husbands, but not from their wives.) The Chancellor
2033-546: Is ex officio the senior officer of the College of Arms (the heraldic authority of England), and is usually appointed from among the other officers of arms at the College. As the title suggests, Garter Principal King of Arms has specific duties as the Order's officer of arms, attending to the companions' coats of arms and banners of arms , which are exhibited in the chapel. The Secretary, who acts as deputy to Garter in
2140-594: Is also assigned precedence, but since 1837 the office has been held by a diocesan bishop of the Church of England or a peer , who have a higher precedence than that bestowed by the Chancellorship. Knights Companion prefix " Sir " and Ladies Companion prefix " Lady " to their forenames. Wives of Knights Companion may prefix "Lady" to their surnames, but no corresponding privilege exists for husbands of Ladies Companion. Such forms are not used by royalty, peers, peeresses, or Anglican clergymen, who instead use only
2247-487: Is usually given as 1348 (when it was formally proclaimed). However, The Complete Peerage , under "The Founders of the Order of the Garter", states the order was first instituted on 23 April 1344, listing each founding member as knighted in 1344. The list includes Sir Sanchet D'Abrichecourt , of whom the latest notice (according to the book) is 20 October 1345. Other dates from 1344 to 1351 have also been proposed. The King's wardrobe account shows Garter habits first issued in
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#17327797302782354-845: The Act of Union through the Irish Parliament . But it was without the Catholic Emancipation that both he and British Prime Minister William Pitt believed should have accompanied the creation of a United Kingdom . From 1805 Castlereagh served under Pitt and then the Duke of Portland as Secretary of State for War . In 1809 he was obliged to resign after fighting a duel with the Foreign Secretary, George Canning . In 1812 Castlereagh returned to government serving Lord Liverpool as Foreign Secretary and as Leader of
2461-549: The Act of Union of 1800 onwards to sit at Westminster in the House of Lords as an Irish representative peer . In 1816 he was elevated to Marquess of Londonderry Young Robert's mother died in childbirth when he was a year old. Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway had been the daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford and Isabella Fitzroy. Lord Hertford was a former British Ambassador to France (1764–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765–66). Isabella Fitzroy
2568-588: The Austrian Netherlands he had difficulty in empathising with the wholly reactionary outlook of the French emigres. But after passing into France in November, he conceded that while he did not "like" the government of Ireland, "I prefer it to a revolution.". Stewart was not convinced of Burke's contention that the revolution would produce a French Cromwell , although he recognised that outside Paris
2675-632: The Black Rod . St George's Chapel in Windsor is the mother church of the Order of the Garter and the location of special services in relation to the Order. During their lifetime, all members of the Order of the Garter are entitled to display their heraldic crests and banners in St George's Chapel. While the Garter stall plates ( see below ) stay in the chapel permanently, the crests and banners of deceased knights are, following presentation at
2782-468: The British royal family and foreign monarchs). The order's emblem is a garter circlet with the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense ( Anglo-Norman for 'Shame on him who thinks evil of it') in gold script. Members of the order wear it on ceremonial occasions. King Edward III founded the Order of the Garter around the time of his claim to the French throne . The traditional year of foundation
2889-633: The Bruges Garter Book compiled c. 1431 , and now in the British Library . Various legends account for the origin of the Order. The most popular involves the "Countess of Salisbury", whose garter is said to have slipped from her leg while she was dancing at a court ball at Calais . When the surrounding courtiers snickered, the King picked it up and returned it to her, exclaiming, " Honi soit qui mal y pense! " ('Shame on him who thinks ill of it!'), which phrase has become
2996-572: The Continental System and alliance with France. In 1808 Castlereagh had been warned by Dumouriez that the best policy England could adopt with respect to colonies in Spanish America was to relinquish all ideas of military conquest by Arthur Wellesley and instead support the emancipation of the territories. Furthermore, Dumouriez suggested that once emancipation was achieved, a constitutional monarchy should be established with
3103-536: The Peterloo Massacre of 1819. Widely reviled in both Ireland and Great Britain, overworked, and personally distressed, Castlereagh died of suicide in 1822. Robert was born on 18 June 1769 in 28 Henry Street , in Dublin 's Northside . He was the second and only surviving child of Robert Stewart (the elder) and his wife Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway. His parents married in 1766. The Stewarts had been
3210-971: The Viceroy in Ireland , he worked to suppress the Rebellion of 1798 and to secure passage in 1800 of the Irish Act of Union. As the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom from 1812, he was central to the management of the coalition that defeated Napoleon , and was British plenipotentiary at the Congress of Vienna . In the post-war government of Lord Liverpool , Castlereagh was seen to support harsh measures against agitation for reform, and he ended his life an isolated and unpopular figure. Early in his career in Ireland , and following
3317-624: The image and arms of Saint George , England's patron saint . Appointments are at the Sovereign 's sole discretion, typically made in recognition of national contribution, service to the Crown, or for distinguished personal service to the Monarch. Membership of the order is limited to the sovereign, the Prince of Wales , and no more than 24 living members, or Companions. The order also includes Supernumerary Knights and Ladies (e.g., members of
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3424-537: The ministry of the Duke of Portland . In August 1807, he concurred with Foreign Secretary George Canning in authorising a British bombardment of the neutral Danish capital, Copenhagen . They sought to pre-emptively capture or destroy the Dano-Norwegian fleet fearing that it would fall into French hands. The incident precipitated both the Anglo-Russian War of 1807 and Denmark's adherence to
3531-470: The 15th century; and that of Secretary, in the 20th century. William of Edington , Bishop of Winchester , was the first Prelate of the Order, and that office has since been held by his successors at Winchester, traditionally a senior bishopric of the Church of England . The office of Chancellor is now held by one of the companions of the order. For most of its existence, the Bishop of Salisbury has held
3638-498: The 17th century, there were only thirteen such knights. King Charles II increased the number to 18 (in large part because of funds allocated from Sir Francis Crane's will) after his coronation in 1660. After the knights objected to being termed "poor", King William IV redesignated them in the 19th century as the Military Knights of Windsor. The poor knights were impoverished military veterans, required to pray daily for
3745-422: The 19 yere [ sic ] of this kinge, he made a solempne feest at Wyndesore, and a greate justes and turnament, where he devysed, and perfyted substanegally, the order of the knyghtes of the garter; howe be it some afferme that this order began fyrst by kynge Rycharde, Cure de Lyon, at the sege of the citye of Acres; where, in his great necessyte, there were but 26 knyghtes that fyrmely and surely abode by
3852-608: The American and French revolutions, the republican conspiracy had spread rapidly in Ulster and, in league with the Catholic Defenders , across the Irish midlands. In County Down , Castlereagh's father had difficulty in raising a loyalist yeomanry among his tenants and eventually, with all rent withheld, Mount Stewart was placed under armed guard. In December 1796, a large French expedition to Ireland failed to effect
3959-757: The Board of Control . His chief task was to mediate the bitter disputes between the Governor-General of India , Richard Wellesley (the brother of Arthur Wellesley) and the Directors of the East India Company , smoothing quarrels while generally supporting Lord Wellesley 's policies. In 1805, with the renewed struggle against Napoleon in Europe the overriding priority, he presided over Wellesley's recall and replacement by Lord Cornwallis , and over
4066-558: The Companions of the Order and their spouses, and by the Officers of the Order. After the banquet all the knights and ladies of the order, together with the prelate, chancellor and other officers of the order, in their mantles and ceremonial robes, led by the Military Knights of Windsor, move in procession, watched by a great crowd of spectators, through the castle, down the hill, which is lined with soldiers, to Saint George's Chapel for
4173-581: The Crown. From the late 15th century, there was a formal ceremony of degradation, in which Garter King of Arms , accompanied by the rest of the Heralds , processed to St George's Chapel. While the Garter King read aloud the Instrument of Degradation, a Herald climbed up a ladder and removed the former Knight's banner , crest , helm , and sword , throwing them down into the quire . Then the rest of
4280-677: The Established Church was not alone in preaching loyalty to the Crown. To counter "the democratic party in the [Presbyterian] synod, most of whom, if not engaged in the Rebellion, were deeply infected with its principles", he proposed transforming the existing Regium Donum , which the Presbyterian body had apportioned equally among its clergy, into a discretionary grant for which each minister had to apply individually with proofs and professions of loyalty. His efforts to extend
4387-606: The Foreign Secretary to a duel. Knight of the Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system , it is outranked in precedence only by the decorations of the Victoria Cross and the George Cross . The Order of the Garter is dedicated to
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4494-468: The French throne, and the Order of the Garter was created to help pursue this claim. The use of the garter as an emblem may have derived from straps used to fasten armour, and may have been chosen because it held overtones of a tight-knit "band" or "bond" of knightly "supporters" of Edward's cause. There is a connection between the Order of the Garter and the Middle English poem Sir Gawain and
4601-453: The Garter named was Queen Alexandra, by her husband King Edward VII . King George V also made his consort, Queen Mary , a Lady of the Garter and King George VI subsequently did the same for his wife, Queen Elizabeth , and his daughter Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II). Throughout the 20th century, women continued to be associated with the Order, but save for foreign female monarchs, they were not made Companions. In 1987, by
4708-408: The Garter", belong to the royal family . These titles were introduced in 1786 by King George III so that his many sons would not curtail the number of non-royal companions. He created the statute of supernumerary members in 1805 so that any descendant of King George II could be installed as such a member. In 1831, this statute was extended again to include all descendants of King George I . With
4815-494: The Garter, the Order of the Thistle and the dormant Order of St Patrick ) became a personal gift of the Sovereign once again. Thus, the sovereign personally selects Knights and Ladies Companion of the Garter, without political influence. Appointments are typically announced on Saint George's Day (23 April). The Order includes supernumerary members, whose number do not count towards the limit of 24 companions. Several supernumerary members, known as "Royal Knights and Ladies of
4922-405: The Garter. Each June, on Garter Day, the members of the Order, wearing their habits and garter insignia, meet at Windsor Castle . When any new Knights and/or Ladies of the Garter are due for installation, an investiture ceremony is held in the Throne Room of Windsor Castle on the morning of Garter Day. This ceremony is attended by all available Knights and Ladies Companion of the Order, wearing
5029-412: The Garter. Knights and Ladies Companion are also entitled to receive heraldic supporters , a privilege granted to few other private individuals. While some families claim supporters by ancient use, and others have been granted them as a special reward, only members of the Royal Family, peers, Knights and Ladies Companion of the Garter, Knights and Ladies of the Thistle, and Knights and Dames Grand Cross of
5136-449: The Garter. Queen Elizabeth I replaced the mantles in the 16th and 17th centuries with blue and purple gowns, but the red mantles returned in the 17th century under King Charles I . When the knights were renamed, the mantles were abandoned. The military knights now wear the old military uniform of an "army officer on the unattached list": black trousers with red stripe, a red double-breasted swallow-tailed coat, gold epaulets and brushes,
5243-491: The Green Knight (late 14th century). The motto is inscribed, as hony soyt qui mal pence , at the end of the text in the sole surviving manuscript in the British Library , albeit in a later hand. In the poem, a girdle , very similar in its erotic undertones to the garter, plays a prominent role. A rough equivalent of the Order's motto has been identified in Gawain's exclamation corsed worth cowarddyse and couetyse boþe ('cursed be both cowardice and coveting', v. 2374). While
5350-409: The Heralds kicked them down the length of the chapel, out of the doors, and into the castle ditch. The last such formal degradation was that of James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde , in 1716. During the First World War, two Royal Knights and six Stranger Knights, all monarchs or princes of enemy nations and including Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria , were struck off
5457-511: The High Altar, removed from the chapel. Sometimes they are then given to institutions that were connected with the late knight, or kept privately depending on family wishes. Originally after a knight's death, the crests became the property of Garter King of Arms, and these crests have been the subject of occasional exhibitions in the Earl Marshal's Court at the College of Arms . Garter stall plates are small enamelled and engraved brass plates located in St George's Chapel as memorials to Knights of
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#17327797302785564-455: The House of Commons . Castlereagh organised and financed the alliance that defeated Napoleon , bringing the powers together at the Treaty of Chaumont in 1814. After Napoleon's second abdication in 1815, Castlereagh worked with the European courts represented at the Congress of Vienna to frame the territorial, and broadly conservative, continental order that was to hold until mid-century. He blocked harsh terms against France believing that
5671-536: The Irish and British Parliaments for a union that would incorporate Ireland with Great Britain in a United Kingdom. In addition to security against the French, Castlereagh saw the principal merit of bringing Ireland directly under the Crown in the Westminster Parliament as a resolution of what ultimately was the key issue for the governance of the country, the Catholic question. "Linked with England", he reasoned that "the Protestants, feeling less exposed, would be more confident and liberal", while Catholics, reduced to
5778-405: The King, George III , obliged Castlereagh to defy what he saw as "the very logic of the Union."The Union bill that, with a generous distribution of titles and favours, he helped put through the Irish Parliament omitted the provision for Catholic emancipation. A separate Irish executive in Dublin was retained, but representation, still wholly Protestant, was transferred to Westminster constituted as
5885-425: The Knights Companion. In return, they received a salary and lodging in Windsor Castle. The knights are no longer necessarily poor, but are still military pensioners. They participate in the Order's processions, escorting the members, and in the chapel services. However, they are not considered members of the Order. The poor knights originally wore red mantles , each of which bore St George's Cross, but did not depict
5992-406: The Monarch, the Prince of Wales , not more than 24 Companion members, and various supernumerary members. The monarch alone decides who is appointed. The monarch is known as the Sovereign of the Garter , and the Prince of Wales is known as a Royal Knight Companion of the Garter . Male members of the Order are titled "Knights Companion" and female members are called "Ladies Companion". Formerly,
6099-447: The Order's motto . However, the earliest written version of this story dates from the 1460s, and it seems to have been conceived as a retrospective explanation for the adoption of what was then seen as an item of female underclothing as the symbol of a band of knights. In fact, at the time of the Order's establishment in the mid-14th century, garters were predominantly an item of male attire. According to another legend, King Richard I
6206-401: The Order, women were appointed "Ladies of the Garter", but some historians argue that they were not appointed Companions, as they were not Knights. Queen Philippa was the first Lady to be appointed in 1358. King Henry VII discontinued the practice in 1488; his mother, Margaret Beaufort , was the last Lady of the Garter before Queen Alexandra . Except for female sovereigns, the next Lady of
6313-403: The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . Pitt had tried to follow through on his commitment, but when it came to light that the King had approached Henry Addington , an opponent of Catholic emancipation, about becoming Prime Minister to replace him, both Castlereagh and Pitt resigned. Castlereagh would long be held personally responsible by many Catholics in Ireland for
6420-414: The Volunteers, he was a friend and supporter of Lord Charlemont and his policy. This favoured Volunteer agitation for the independence of Ireland's Ascendancy parliament, but not for its reform and not for Catholic emancipation. In 1798, the elder Robert Stewart was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III , enabling him from
6527-399: The author of that poem remains disputed, there seems to be a connection between two of the top candidates and the Order of the Garter, John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , and Enguerrand de Coucy , seventh Sire de Coucy . De Coucy was married to King Edward III's daughter, Isabella , and was given admittance to the Order of the Garter on their wedding day." Soon after the founding of
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#17327797302786634-576: The autumn of 1348. Also, its original statutes required that each member of the Order already be a knight (what would now be referred to as a knight bachelor ) and some of the initial members listed were only knighted that year. Its foundation is likely to have been inspired by the Castilian Order of the Band , established in about 1330. At the time of its foundation, the Order consisted of King Edward III, together with 25 Founder Knights, listed in ascending order of stall number in St George's Chapel : They are all depicted by individual portraits in
6741-410: The breach of promise and the British Government's failure to remove their remaining political disabilities. In the new Parliament of the United Kingdom the tensions within the ruling Tories over Catholic emancipation abated, and after obtaining his desired cessation of hostilities with France (the Peace of Amiens ), in July 1802 Henry Addington brought Castlereagh into the Cabinet as President of
6848-418: The ceremonial aspects of the Order, has since 1952 typically also been selected from the other officers of the College of Arms. The office of Usher is held by the Usher of the Black Rod , who is also the Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Lords . At the founding of the Order of the Garter, 26 "poor knights" were appointed and attached to the Order and its chapel. This number was not always maintained, and by
6955-401: The ceremonial habits and garter insignia, and also by their spouses. The wording of the oath sworn by the new knights at this ceremony and of the Admonitions addressed to them in turn by the prelate and chancellor of the order when the several items of insignia are placed upon them are extremely similar to the traditions of the past. At the investiture ceremony, two senior knights or ladies of
7062-455: The contest he also faced the hostility of unrepentant United Irishmen—men like William Drennan who were to engage in what Castlereagh denounced as "a deep laid scheme again to bring the Presbyterian Synod within the ranks of democracy". (In 1810, with Castlereagh out of office, Drennan and his friends secured a government grant for the education of Presbyterian ministers in their new, distinctly liberal, Belfast Academical Institution) . Despite
7169-422: The death sentence which the popular journalist Peter Finnerty credited to Castlereagh's insistence on making an example in the face of the growing French fever. In 1811, Castlereagh successfully had Finnerty convicted for libel. After the rebellion, during which Mount Stewart was briefly occupied, Castlereagh was content that leading United Irishmen in the Presbyterian north be allowed American exile. An exception
7276-421: The early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 . Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's . She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities . By all accounts,
7383-440: The emancipation of Catholics be completed with their admission to parliament. Camden's arrival in Dublin was greeted with riots, and that year Stewart crossed the floor of the Irish House of Commons to join the supporters of the government, the Dublin Castle executive . Stewart became an essential adviser to the inexperienced and unpopular Lord Lieutenant, who was Stewart's senior by only ten years. In August 1796 Stewart's father
7490-433: The exiled Duke of Orleans as King. In 1809, with the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire now manoeuvring against him in London, the debacle of the Walcheren Expedition subjected Castlereagh to particularly hostile scrutiny. Canning claimed to have opposed the Walcheren Expedition , to have dismissed the landing on the Dutch coast as an ill-advised, ill-prepared diversion of troops from the Peninsular War . Castlereagh had
7597-403: The extension of the General Post Office building on O'Connell Street in the 1920s. A Roches Stores department store was established on the corner of Henry Street and Coles Lane in 1960. The premises were redeveloped in 2003. The Ilac Centre began construction in 1977. As well as an entrance on Henry Street, it linked it to Parnell Street and Moore Street . It was refurbished in 2006 at
7704-448: The installation of Emperor Alexander I of Russia in 1813, supernumerary membership was extended to foreign monarchs, who are known as "Stranger Knights and Ladies of the Garter". Each such installation originally required the enactment of a statute; however, a 1954 statute authorises the regular admission of Stranger Knights or Ladies without further special enactments. The sovereign may " degrade " members who have taken up arms against
7811-583: The junior orders of chivalry are automatically entitled to them. Henry Street, Dublin Henry Street ( Irish : Sráid Anraí ) is located on Dublin's Northside and is one of the two principal shopping streets of Dublin (the other being Grafton Street ). Henry Street runs from the Spire of Dublin and the General Post Office on O'Connell Street in the east to Liffey Street in
7918-565: The kynge; where he caused all them to were thonges of blew leyther about theyr legges. And afterwarde they were called the knyghtes of the blew thonge." I am obliged for this passage to John Fenn, Esq; a curious and ingenious gentleman of East-Dereham, in Norfolk, who is in possession of the most rare book whence it is taken. Hence some affirm, that the origin of the garter is to be dated from Richard I* and that it owes its pomp and splendor to Edward III. The motto in fact refers to Edward's claim to
8025-664: The new cabinet as Secretary of State for War and the Colonies . While pushing forward reforms of the military, he joined Pitt in endorsing an aggressive expeditionary policy. In October 1805, an army under General Sir George Don was landed at the mouth of the Elbe with a view to liberating Hanover . Following Napoleon's triumph over the Russian and Austrian armies at Austerlitz in December, it had to be recalled at great cost. As
8132-458: The office, although laymen held it from 1553 to 1671. In 1837, after boundary changes made Windsor Castle fall in the diocese of Oxford , the Chancellorship was transferred to the Bishop of Oxford . A century later, the Bishop of Salisbury challenged this transfer, on the grounds that the Chancellorship had been attached to his office regardless of the diocese in which the chapel of the order lay; and that, in any event, St George's Chapel , as
8239-512: The only other member of Pitt's cabinet in the House of Commons, Castlereagh became Pitt's political deputy, taking on ever more burdens as Pitt's health continued to decline. After Pitt's death in 1806, Castlereagh resigned amid the chaos of the Ministry of All the Talents . When that Government collapsed, Castlereagh again became Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in 1807, this time in
8346-540: The order assist the Sovereign by placing the garter around the left leg of the new knight, or left arm of the new lady, and in the fastening of the riband and Lesser George about the body of the new knight or lady, and in the adjustment of the mantle and the collar. After the investiture ceremony at Windsor is concluded, a state luncheon is held in the Banqueting Room. This is attended by the royal family, by all
8453-633: The other insignia to the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood , save the riband, mantle and hat. For ceremonial occasions of the Order, the officers wear the following garments and accessories: The chancellor carries a purse, which is embroidered with the royal arms impaled by the Cross of St George. The purse contains the seal of the Order. Garter Principal King of Arms carries his baton of office . The usher carries their staff of office,
8560-558: The parliament in Dublin, Stewart spoke in favour of the Catholic Relief Bill . In doing so he was supporting the policy of British Prime Minister William Pitt who determined that Catholic opinion be conciliated in preparation for the impending war with the new, anti-clericalist , French Republic . While calling for the removal of their remaining civil disabilities, Stewart stopped short of endorsing extension to Catholics of
8667-440: The post-nominal letters. Knights and Ladies Companion use the post-nominal letters "KG" and "LG" respectively. When an individual is entitled to use multiple post-nominal letters, those of the Order of the Garter appear before all others, except "Bt" or "Bart" ( Baronet ), "VC" ( Victoria Cross ) and "GC" ( George Cross ). In their heraldic achievements , members of the Order of the Garter may encircle their escutcheon with
8774-516: The prestige of a new cabinet position in London, Castlereagh was defeated in a campaign marked by repeated aspersions on his failure to father a child, and by the taunts of those who, otherwise no friends of the Downshires, reminded him of the principles on which he had stood in 1790. News of his discomfiture was met with public celebration in Dublin and Belfast. On his return to London, the Treasury found him an alternative English seat, Boroughbridge ,
8881-497: The principles of liberty were not as entrenched. As the revolutionary factions, the Jacobins and Girondins , struggled for supremacy in the capital, it was "the nation at large" that would "ultimately decide between them." In "an early example of [his] scepticism about foreign intervention", Stewart argued it was beyond her neighbours to give government to France. The Austrian Emperor might march his troops to Paris, but unless he
8988-401: The rebellion, he had begun to earn the sobriquet "Bloody Castlereagh". In October 1797 his stepmother, Lady Frances, had petitioned Camden for the life of William Orr . On a charge of administering the United Irish test to two soldiers, Orr had been named on the same warrant that Castlereagh had used in the roundup of the previous September. The judge reportedly broke down in tears as he read
9095-630: The right to vote on the same forty-shilling freehold terms as Protestants that was provided in the bill. He noted that to now deprive the Ascendancy of their pocket boroughs would result in Catholics forming an overwhelming majority of those represented in the Irish Parliament. "Can a Protestant superstructure," he asked, "long continue supported on such base?" However, his loyalty to Pitt now seemed unconditional. In April 1793, Stewart
9202-429: The roll of the order, their appointments being annulled in 1915. The banner of King Victor Emmanuel III was removed from the chapel after Italy entered World War II against the United Kingdom and its allies in 1940. The banner of Emperor Hirohito was removed from St George's Chapel when Japan entered World War II in 1941, but that banner and his knighthood were restored by Elizabeth II in 1971, when Hirohito made
9309-422: The sovereign acting alone, with no prior nominations. The statutes prescribing the former procedure were not amended, however, until 1953. From the 18th century, the sovereign made their choices on the advice of the government . In 1946, with the agreement of Prime Minister Clement Attlee and Opposition Leader Winston Churchill , membership of Great Britain's highest ranking orders of chivalry (the Order of
9416-497: The sovereign filled vacancies upon the nomination of the members. Each member would nominate nine candidates, of whom three had to have the rank of earl or higher, three the rank of baron or higher, and three the rank of knight or higher. The sovereign would choose as many nominees as were necessary to fill any vacancies in the order. They were not obliged to choose those who received the most nominations. Candidates were last nominated in 1860, and appointments have since been made by
9523-724: The subsequent abandonment of most of Wellesley's recent acquisitions in central India. While his British interests and responsibilities took up more and more of his time, and his visits home became increasingly brief and rare, Castlereagh still hoped to do something for Ireland from the government benches. On entering the cabinet he wrote to Addington deploring the role of the Orange Order in fostering sectarian violence and to commend putting "the law rigidly in force against all parties" so that in future wars, "our foreign enemies" would not again find an aggrieved domestic ally. More than this, he won cabinet approval for schemes to ensure that
9630-525: The support of General Wellesley , and evidence later surfaced that the Foreign Secretary himself had interfered with the plan, selecting the Earl of Chatham to command the expedition. The Portland government became increasingly paralysed by disputes between the two men. Portland was in deteriorating health and gave no lead, until Canning threatened resignation unless Castlereagh was removed. When Castlereagh discovered Canning's terms had been accepted, he challenged
9737-816: The support of many who, later despairing of parliamentary "patriots", were to enter the ranks of the United Irishmen. In the House of Commons, Stewart spurned an offer of a place in government and sat as an independent. But otherwise, he made little impression and was judged a poor speaker. In July 1791, having both read Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke (a family friend) and learnt that in Belfast Irish Volunteers were preparing to celebrate Bastille Day , Stewart decided to judge events in France for himself.In Spa in
9844-551: The sympathy and support of Belfast's Northern Whig Club. It had been his conscious strategy to capitalise on strong Volunteer and reform sentiments. In a letter to the Belfast Newsletter he declared for parliamentary reform (reform that would have abolished the pocket boroughs that allowed Ascendancy families, in addition to their presence in the House of Lords, to control seats in the Commons). In doing so, he won
9951-401: The two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart , while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army . In 1795, Pitt replaced William Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland with Stewart's uncle, John Pratt the 2nd Earl Camden . Fitzwilliam had urged that
10058-598: The upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of the older and the younger Robert Stewart. By Frances Pratt, his father's second wife, young Robert had eleven half-siblings , including his half-brother Charles William Stewart (later Vane) , Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822). The younger Robert Stewart had recurring health problems throughout his childhood, and
10165-552: The west. At Liffey Street, the street becomes Mary Street , which continues the shopping street until it ends at crossing Capel Street . Henry Street and Mary Street are often considered as one (and in fact form a single shopping area with their eastward continuations, beyond the Spire, North Earl Street and Talbot Street ). Henry Street is connected to Princes Street North by the GPO Arcade. The land around Dublin's Northside
10272-438: Was Drogheda Street is now O'Connell Street , Dublin's main street. The area was later sold to Luke Gardiner in the early 1700s. Of or Off Lane is now known as Henry Place. The street was shown on Charles Brooking's map of Dublin, published in 1728. Properties began to be developed along Henry Street in the 1760s, with a variety of businesses and shops. There are now none of the original Georgian properties left. The street
10379-461: Was a daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton . Five years later his father married Lady Frances Pratt , the independent-minded daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714–94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham , and his son, William Pitt the Younger . The marriages of the elder Robert Stewart linked his family with
10486-525: Was elevated to the title Earl of Londonderry . As his son, Stewart was henceforth styled Viscount Castlereagh. In September, acting upon evidence of communication with the French, Castlereagh personally led troops in a series of raids in Belfast and its environs (the "Siege of Belfast") that netted leading members of the United Irishmen . Among them were men who had supported him in the election of 1790. Originating in Belfast among Presbyterian celebrants of
10593-608: Was gazetted a Lieutenant-Colonel in the government's new Militia , its replacement for the now proscribed Volunteers. He commanded the Londonderry Militia , being promoted to Colonel of the regiment in 1800. In 1794, partly as a result of the promotion of his interests by his Camden connections, Stewart was offered the Government-controlled seat of Tregony in Cornwall. In 1796, he transferred to
10700-604: Was inspired in the 12th century by St George the Martyr while fighting in the Crusades to tie garters around the legs of his knights, who subsequently won the battle. King Edward supposedly recalled the event in the 14th century when he founded the Order. This story is recounted in a letter to the Annual Register in 1774: In Rastel's Chronicle, I. vi. under the life of Edward III is the following curious passage: "About
10807-591: Was made in the case of James Porter, executed, again despite the entreaties of Lady Frances, following a court martial before Castlereagh's father, Lord Londonderry. Porter, who had been his family's Presbyterian minister and, in 1790, his election agent, had become a household name in Ulster as the author of a satire of the county gentry, Billy Bluff , in which Londonderry was serially lampooned as an inarticulate tyrant. In 1799, in furtherance of both his own political vision and Pitt's policies, Castlereagh began lobbying in
10914-541: Was pedestrianised in the 1980s. The flagship Arnotts store is at nos. 9-15 Henry Street, and has been based there since 1843. The current name dates from 1865. The original buildings were extensively destroyed by fire in 1894. Many buildings on the street were damaged or destroyed during the 1916 Easter Rising and only two 19th-century properties survived - Arnotts at Bos. 9-15 and No. 6. Rebuilding took place soon afterwards, with several buildings constructed from concrete or brick. Nos. 27-30 were removed to accommodate
11021-749: Was prepared to keep them there, the Ancien Régime restored would again collapse. Stewart returned to the Austrian Netherlands in the autumn of 1792, but was unable to cross the now military frontlines into France. However, news of the Jacobin triumph in Paris, and, following her victory at Valmy , the prospect of France carrying defence of the revolution beyond her frontiers convinced him that "it would not be long before he had to face his own 'Jacobins' in Ireland." When in 1793 he returned to
11128-496: Was sent to The Royal School, Armagh , rather than to England for his secondary education. At the encouragement of Charles Pratt, first Earl of Camden, who took a great interest in him and treated him as if he had been a grandson by blood, he later attended St. John's College, Cambridge (1786–87), where he applied himself with greater diligence than expected from an aristocrat and excelled in his first-year examinations. But he then withdrew, pleading an illness that he admitted to Camden
11235-456: Was something "which cannot be directly acknowledged before women", i.e. something sexually transmitted. In the summer of 1790, Stewart was elected as a Member of the Irish Parliament for his family's County Down constituency . In a county with an exceptionally large number of enfranchised freeholders , his campaign pitted him in a popular contest against the nominees of the county's established Ascendancy families, and on that basis alone he won
11342-410: Was the granddaughter of William Conolly , Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox , sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster , whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, Lord Edward FitzGerald was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in
11449-517: Was the original part of the estate of St Mary's Abbey. It was given to James FitzGerald, 13th Earl of Desmond following the Dissolution of the Irish monasteries in 1537. The street was developed by Henry Moore, 1st Earl of Drogheda in 1614, whose estate lands and developments are reflected in the street names bearing his name, Henry Street, Moore Street , Earl Street , Of Lane and Drogheda Street . Most of those names still survive, but what
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