78-564: Maurice, Prince Palatine of the Rhine KG (16 January 1621 – September 1652) was the fourth son of Frederick V, Elector Palatine and Princess Elizabeth , only daughter of King James VI and I and Anne of Denmark . Maurice was present with his elder brother, Rupert , at the siege of Breda in 1637 . He then accompanied Rupert, to support their uncle Charles I in the English Civil War in 1642. Maurice served under Rupert with
156-674: 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
234-476: 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
312-867: 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
390-735: A sister of Louis XIII , and his son Charles II spent much of his exile during the Interregnum in France (at which time, even if not formally abandoning his claim for its throne, he certainly did not emphasise it). The Act of Union 1707 declared the joining of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to a new Kingdom of Great Britain . The Kingdom had four Monarchs until 1801. They also styled themselves Queen/King of France; however, none of them made any official move to depose Louis XIV and his successors, Louis XV and Louis XVI , or
468-426: 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
546-472: 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
624-783: 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
702-546: 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
780-646: 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
858-749: 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 the Bruges Garter Book compiled c. 1431 , and now in the British Library . Various legends account for
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#1732780971290936-516: The Act of Union joined the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland to a new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . George III chose this opportunity to drop his claim to the now defunct French throne, whereupon the fleurs-de-lis , part of the coat of arms of all claimant Kings of France since the time of Edward III, was also removed from the British royal arms. Britain recognised
1014-632: 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
1092-704: 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 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
1170-688: The Duchy of Normandy ). Following the Hundred Years War , English and British monarchs continued to call themselves kings of France, and used the French fleur-de-lis as their coat of arms, quartering the arms of England in positions of secondary honour. This continued until 1802 when Britain recognised the French Republic and therefore the abolition of the French monarchy. The Jacobite claimants , however, did not explicitly relinquish
1248-776: The First French Republic that followed them: During the French Revolution , the monarchy was abolished on 21 September 1792, replaced with the French Republic . In the War of the First Coalition British–French negotiations were held in Lille from July to November 1797. The French demanded that the English monarch drop the title; James Harris, 1st Earl of Malmesbury , was prepared to omit it from
1326-798: The French army in Flanders , but rejoined Rupert in 1648 as vice-admiral of his fleet. In 1649, while in exile, Maurice was made a Knight of the Garter. In 1652, while sailing for the West Indies , he was caught in a hurricane near the Virgin Islands and went down with his flagship, HMS Defiance . Knight 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
1404-470: 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
1482-498: 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
1560-422: 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
1638-558: 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
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#17327809712901716-581: 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
1794-647: The English had been driven out of their last strongholds in Normandy and Guyenne . The only French territory left to the English was Calais which they held until 1558 and the Channel Islands . Following a year-long episode of catatonia on the part of Henry VI of England in 1453 and the subsequent outbreak of the Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), the English were no longer in any position to pursue their claim to
1872-617: The Fair was succeeded by his son Louis X . However, Louis' death in 1316, immediately followed by the death of Louis' son John I the Posthumous , meant it had to be decided whether the young daughter of Louis X, Joan , or Louis' brother, Philip , would now succeed to the throne. Philip arranged for his coronation, and became Philip V of France . He was challenged by the supporters of the Princess Joan , who disputed Philip's right to
1950-657: The French Republic by the Treaty of Amiens of 1802. Although the fleurs-de-lys were completely removed from the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom , they were later included in the arms of Canada , a British dominion , where they symbolise the heritage of the French Canadians , rather than the former British claim to the French throne. While the position of King of France was restored between 1814 and 1848, subsequent British monarchs did not pursue
2028-509: The French crown had always passed based on male-line relations (father to son until 1316). There was no precedent for someone succeeding to the French throne based on his maternal ancestry, nor had there been a need to. There had been no shortage of sons for more than three centuries from the inception of the House of Capet until the early 14th century, when new precedents concerning female inheritance finally had to be introduced. In 1314, Philip IV
2106-472: The French royal title, then the Flemish would be able to keep their honour, since they would not be attacking the "true King of France" (Edward III). Edward continued to use this title until the Treaty of Brétigny on 8 May 1360, when he abandoned his claims in return for substantial lands in France. After the resumption of hostilities between the English and the French in 1369, Edward resumed his claim and
2184-428: The French throne and lost all their land on the continent, except for Calais . Calais was ruled by eight more English monarchs, who claimed to also rule France, until 8 January 1558: Ill feeling between the two nations continued well into the 16th century. Calais was captured by French troops under Francis, Duke of Guise on 7 January 1558. Mary and Philip continued, however, to be styled Queen and King of France for
2262-414: The French throne in 1328: At the time of Charles's death in 1328, there was once again a dispute over the succession. Although it had come to be accepted that a woman could not possess the French throne in her own right, Edward III, the nephew of the deceased king and thus the nearest adult male relative, based his claim on the theory that a woman could transmit a right of inheritance to her son. This claim
2340-468: 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
2418-652: The French to take the islands (culminating with the Battle of Jersey in 1781), have remained under continuous English and British sovereignty, with the exception of a period of German occupation during the Second World War. The change was not acknowledged by Jacobite claimants . The Jacobite pretenders were the deposed James II of England and his successors, continuing to style themselves "Kings of England, Scotland, France and Ireland" past their deposition in 1689. All four pretenders continued to actively claim
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2496-453: 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
2574-408: 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
2652-657: 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
2730-465: 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
2808-473: 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
2886-449: 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,
2964-605: 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
3042-529: 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
3120-631: 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
3198-557: 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
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3276-566: 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,
3354-448: 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 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
3432-401: 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
3510-635: The Treaty of Bretigny in 1360, the Channel Islands, Aquitaine, and other English possessions in France ceased to be under the suzerainty of the Kings of France. In the remaining years of the Hundred Years' War, France reconquered all the English territories on the French mainland except Calais, which was finally taken in 1558. However, the Channel Islands, despite a few unsuccessful attempts by
3588-399: 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
3666-550: The cavalry at the Battle of Powick Bridge , where he was wounded, and the Battle of Edgehill . He accompanied his uncle Charles in the occupation of Oxford on 29 October 1642. He commanded the army in Gloucestershire which engaged Sir William Waller in several battles in 1643, including the victory of Ripple Field (13 April), culminating in the Royalist victory at the Battle of Roundway Down (13 July). By 1644, Maurice
3744-541: 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
3822-461: 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
3900-402: The claim to the French throne, whether of the Kingdom of France or of the French Empire . The Channel Islands , originally part of the Duchy of Normandy, have been held by the Kings of England since the Norman Conquest. By the Treaty of Paris of 1259, the Kings of England ceased to be Dukes of Normandy but continued to hold the Channel Islands "as peer of France and Duke of Aquitaine". By
3978-417: The claim. The title was first assumed in 1340 by Edward III of England , the Kingdom of England being ruled by the Plantagenet dynasty at the time. Edward III claimed the throne of France after the death of his uncle Charles IV of France . At the time of Charles IV's death in 1328, Edward was his nearest male relative through Edward's mother Isabella of France . Since the election of Hugh Capet in 987,
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#17327809712904056-415: 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
4134-515: The evening of their victory. Maurice besieged Lyme Regis in April 1644, but he was compelled to end the siege in June, at great cost to his military standing. At the Battle of Lostwithiel and the Second Battle of Newbury, he participated as a subordinate; at the Battle of Naseby, he fought under Rupert's command. Maurice attempted to defend Rupert's surrender of Bristol in 1645 to Charles. While unsuccessful, he did not share in Rupert's disgrace. Banished with Rupert in October 1646, he served with
4212-448: 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
4290-416: The junior orders of chivalry are automatically entitled to them. English claims to the French throne From the year 1340 to 1802, excluding two brief intervals in the 1360s and the 1420s, the kings and queens of England and Ireland (and, later, of Great Britain ) also claimed the throne of France . The claim dates from Edward III , who claimed the French throne in 1340 as the sororal nephew of
4368-465: The king's signature to the envisaged peace treaty but had not conceded further by the time the talks collapsed. In the Commons' discussion of the negotiations, Sir John Sinclair called the demand "frivolous" and "hardly worth contending for"; William Pitt the Younger called the title "a harmless feather, at most, in the crown of England"; French Laurence called it an "ancient dignity" the ceding of which would lose honour and bring disgrace. In 1800,
4446-510: 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
4524-448: The last direct Capetian , Charles IV . Edward and his heirs fought the Hundred Years' War to enforce this claim, and were briefly successful in the 1420s under Henry V and Henry VI , but the House of Valois , a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty , was ultimately victorious and retained control of France, except for Calais (which England later lost in 1558 ) and the Channel Islands (which had also historically formed part of
4602-430: 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 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
4680-458: 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
4758-418: 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
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#17327809712904836-489: 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 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
4914-414: 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 the Order's motto . However,
4992-462: 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,
5070-440: 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
5148-480: The rest of her reign, as did Mary I's half-sister and successor Elizabeth I , despite her abandonment of her claims to Calais in the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis of 1559. Elizabeth I revived England's claims to Calais and took the French port of Le Havre in 1561. French forces ejected the English in 1563, and the Treaty of Troyes (1564) , recognised French ownership of Calais, in return for payment to England of 120,000 crowns. Elizabeth died childless. Her successor
5226-429: 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
5304-422: 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
5382-497: 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
5460-480: The throne. In response, Philip V convened an assembly of prelates, barons, and burgesses at Paris, who acknowledged him as their lawful king, and declared that "Women do not succeed to the throne of France". This was later said to have been based on the 5th century Salic law , but it is now known that the Salic law was only rediscovered later and used by the lawyers of the Valois kings to fortify their masters' title with an additional aura of authenticity. Claimants to
5538-406: The title King of France as well as that of King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1689 until 1807: James II for the last twelve years of his life and his son, the Old Pretender, until the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, were actually pensioners of Louis XIV at the very time they were claiming his title. The Jacobite succession has continued since 1807 but none of the eight subsequent holders of
5616-575: The title of King of France. His successors also used the title until the Treaty of Troyes on 21 May 1420, in which the English recognised Charles VI as King of France, but with his new son-in-law King Henry V of England as his heir (disinheriting Charles VI's son, the Dauphin Charles ). Henry V then adopted the title Heir of France instead. Henry V and Charles VI died within two months of each other in 1422, and Henry V's infant son (Charles VI's grandson) Henry VI became King of France. He
5694-597: Was appointed lieutenant-general south of the Thames, assuming command of the army in Cornwall and spending the rest of the year campaigning there. He also led his army into Dartmouth during the English Civil War and stayed until the town surrendered. He based himself and his army at Milton Farm on the outskirts of the town and the town mayor at the time reported large quantities of claret and beer being requested on
5772-505: Was her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots ' son James VI of Scotland . The thrones of England and Scotland were joined in a dynastic union until 1707. The seven monarchs of this period continued to use the style King/Queen of France, though their claim was merely nominal. None of them was willing to engage in military campaigns for France against the actual Kings of France Henry IV , Louis XIII and Louis XIV of France . Indeed, Charles I married
5850-604: 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
5928-491: Was rejected by French jurists under the principle Nemo plus juris ad alium transfere potest quam ipse habet (no one can transfer a greater right to another than he himself has), and the throne was given to the male line heir, Philip, Count of Valois , a first cousin of the deceased king. At the time, Edward paid homage to Philip VI for his Duchy of Aquitaine . In 1337, however, Edward, in his capacity as Duke of Aquitaine, refused to pay homage to Philip. The French king's response
6006-399: Was the only English king who was de facto King of France, rather than using the style as a mere title of pretense. By 1429 Charles VII , with the support of Joan of Arc , had been crowned at Reims and begun to push the English out of northern France. In 1435, an end to the French civil war between Burgundians and Armagnacs allowed Charles to return to Paris the following year, and by 1453
6084-562: Was to confiscate what was left of lands in English-held Aquitaine, namely Gascony , thus precipitating the Hundred Years' War and Edward's revival of his claim to the throne and title of King of France in 1340. The decision to assume the title of "King of France" was made at the solicitation of his Flemish allies, who had signed a treaty that they would no longer attack the French king. They said that if Edward took
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