After the busy royal season was kicked off in spectacular fashion with Trooping the Colour on Saturday, the King and Queen have another ceremony to attend, which is steeped in royal tradition. The Order of the Garter is an annual parade which was founded by King Edward III in 1348.
It sees members of the Royal Family travel to Windsor to attend a service in St George’s Chapel, take part in a procession around the grounds and then senior royals travel back to the castle in a carriage. As the oldest order of chivalry in the UK, there are many rules which dictate who can be inducted into the order and how many members there can be.
Perhaps one of the most eye-catching royal events, owing to the unique robes and ostrich feather-plumed hats worn, Garter Day falls at the start of Royal Ascot and before Prince William’s 43rd birthday on Saturday, June 21.
The Order of the Garter is the oldest order of chivalry in the United Kingdom and is the most senior knighthood in the British honours system, which is only outranked by the Victoria Cross and the George Cross.
Any new appointments are left entirely up to the King’s discretion and are usually in recognition of a national contribution to public service, or for personal service to the monarch.
It sees Knights and Ladies of the Garter don ceremonial robes and attend a service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, before taking part in a procession around the grounds.
Perhaps one of the more unusual uniforms members of the Royal Family wear, the Garter robes are hugely symbolic and provide a rich link to the past.
The dark blue robes (or mantles) worn by Knights and Ladies of the Garter are eye-catching and feature the heraldic shield of St George’s Cross which is sewn onto the left shoulder of the mantle. Interestingly though, the King’s mantle is different as it instead has the star of the Order.
The hat worn is a Tudor bonnet with ostrich and black heron feather plumes attached at the top. Another part of the uniform is the gold collar which is worn around the neck and tied to the mantle with white ribbons.
Finally, the Garter itself is worn around the left calf by Knights and around the left arm by Ladies. It is a buckled dark-blue velvet strap which bears the Order’s motto (Honi soit qui mal y pense, which translates to “Shame on him who thinks evil of it”) in gold lettering.
There are strict rules who can be inducted into the order as membership is limited to the monarch, the Prince of Wales and a maximum of 24 living members.
The Order of the Garter also includes Supernumerary Knights and Ladies (e.g. members of the British Royal Family and foreign monarchs. Any new appointments are left entirely up to the King’s discretion and are typically in recognition of a national contribution to public service, or for personal service to the monarch.
Some notable non-royals who are members include Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baroness Amos, Sir Tony Blair and the former Governor of the Bank of England, Baron King of Lothbury.
The two most recent members of the Royal Family to be added to the Order were Queen Camilla in 2022 and the Duchess of Gloucester in 2024. Other members of the Royal Family, such as the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Edinburgh, watch the service inside St George’s Chapel and later take part in a carriage procession around the castle grounds.