The Order of the Garter is Britain’s oldest and most senior order of chivalry, founded by King Edward III in 1348. Its annual Windsor ceremony may look like pure pageantry, but every robe, banner and empty chapel stall belongs to a living institution that has lasted for nearly seven centuries.
The order brings together the monarch, senior members of the Royal Family, up to 24 appointed Knights and Ladies Companion, and a small group of foreign sovereigns known as Stranger Knights and Ladies. Membership is a personal gift of the Sovereign, usually recognizing exceptional public service, a major contribution to national life or service to the Crown.
Why Edward III created the Order
Edward III founded the order during the Hundred Years’ War, when chivalric ideals carried political as well as romantic power. The Royal Family’s official history says the King was inspired by stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The new fellowship tied military honor, loyalty and royal authority closely together.
The exact story behind the garter itself is less certain. A famous later legend says a countess dropped her garter at a court gathering and Edward defended her from mockery. The College of St George treats that as a colorful story rather than established fact and connects the motto more plausibly to Edward’s claim to the French throne.
The motto is “Honi soit qui mal y pense,” usually translated as “Shame on him who thinks evil of it.” It appears on the blue garter that gives the order its name.
Who chooses the members
The monarch chooses new Companions personally. Unlike many national honors, appointments to the Garter are not presented as a routine reward list. The Royal Family says the honor may recognize people who have held public office, contributed in a particular way to national life or served the Sovereign personally.
Royal members and foreign sovereigns are additional to the 24 ordinary Companions. That is why the number seen at a ceremony may be larger than 24. The distinction also explains the traditional term “Stranger Knight”, which refers to an overseas monarch rather than a visitor with no connection to the order.
Women were associated with the order during the Middle Ages, but they were not then counted as full Companions. Queen Alexandra became a Lady of the Garter in 1901. In 1990, Lavinia, Duchess of Norfolk became the first woman appointed as a full Lady Companion under the modern statutes.
What happens on Garter Day
Garter Day is normally held at Windsor Castle in June. New members are formally invested with the order’s insignia in the Garter Throne Room. The Sovereign then hosts a luncheon before the members process through the castle precincts to a service in St George’s Chapel.
The ceremonial dress is deliberately magnificent. Companions wear a blue velvet mantle, a crimson velvet hood, a broad black velvet hat with white ostrich feathers, and a gold collar. The garter itself is worn below the left knee by Knights and on the left upper arm by Ladies.
During the chapel service, a newly invested Companion is installed in a stall in the Quire. The language may sound symbolic, but the place is physical: each member has a seat and visible heraldic markers within the chapel.
Why St George’s Chapel matters
St George is the patron saint of the order, and St George’s Chapel is its spiritual home. Above the members’ stalls hang banners displaying their arms, accompanied by a helm, crest and sword. An enamelled stall plate records each member’s connection to the order.
When a Companion dies, the banner and other achievements are removed and the insignia is returned to the Sovereign. The stall plate remains. Across generations, those plates have created an extraordinary permanent record of membership inside the chapel.
This is one reason the order feels different from an award presented for a single evening. Appointment leads to an ongoing place in a community, a yearly act of worship and a visible historical record at Windsor.
How the Garter differs from other royal honors
Britain has several orders of chivalry, each with its own history, purpose and chapel connection. The Garter stands first in precedence. Scotland’s highest order, the Order of the Thistle, comes next, while other honors may recognize diplomatic service, military service or personal service to the monarch.
The Garter’s prestige comes partly from age and partly from scarcity. There are only 24 ordinary Companion places, and appointments rest with the Sovereign. The familiar letters KG and LG after a member’s name mean Knight of the Garter and Lady of the Garter.
Why the ceremony still resonates
To modern eyes, plumed hats and velvet mantles can seem remote from ordinary life. Yet the order’s membership often brings together people whose work belongs to very different parts of public life. The ceremony places those contemporary careers inside a tradition that began in the 14th century.
That combination is the point. Garter Day is not a medieval reenactment, and it is not simply a fashion spectacle. It is the annual public expression of an active order whose members, symbols and chapel record continue to change.
Featured artwork: RI illustration, created with AI. It is conceptual artwork inspired by St George’s Chapel and the colors of the Order, not a documentary image of Garter Day or an exact reproduction of official insignia.
