List of current knights and ladies of the Garter

The Most Noble Order of the Garter is a British order of chivalry. It is the world's oldest national order of knighthood in continuous existence and the pinnacle of the British honours system (after the Victoria Cross and George Cross). Its membership is extremely limited, consisting of the Sovereign, the Prince of Wales—both being members ex officio and gaining membership upon acceding to one of the titles if not already held—and not more than 24 full members known as Companions. Male members are known as Knights Companion, whilst female members are known as Ladies Companion. The Order can also include supernumerary members (members of the British Royal Family and foreign monarchs), known as "Royal" and "Stranger" Knights and Ladies (Companion), respectively. The Sovereign alone grants membership to the Order, meaning that ministerial advice is not sought.

Sovereign[edit]

Name Year of appointment Present age Banner
The King (ex officio) 1958 as The Prince of Wales; Sovereign since 2022 75

Royal Knights and Ladies (Companion)[edit]

Name Year of appointment Present age Banner Notes
The Duke of Kent KG GCMG GCVO CD ADC 1985 88
The Princess Royal KG KT GCVO GCStJ QSO GCL CMM CD ADC 1994 73
Royal Knight Companion[1]
The Duke of Gloucester KG GCVO GCStJ SSI 1997 79
Princess Alexandra, The Hon Lady Ogilvy KG GCVO CD 2003 87
Royal Knight Companion[1]
The Duke of York KG GCVO CD 2006 64
The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT GCVO CD ADC 2006 as The Earl of Wessex; The Duke of Edinburgh since 2023 60
The Prince of Wales KG KT GCB PC ADC (ex officio) 2008 as Prince William of Wales; The Prince of Wales since 2022 41
1000th Knight of the Garter
The Queen LG LT ONZ GCVO GBE CSM CD PC January 2022 as The Duchess of Cornwall; The Queen since September 2022 76
Royal Lady
The Duchess of Gloucester LG GCVO DStJ CD 2024 77
Royal Lady Companion

Stranger Knights and Ladies Companion[edit]

Name Year of appointment Present age Banner Notes
Denmark Queen Margrethe II of Denmark LG 1979 as Queen; abdicated 2024 84
recipient of the Royal Victorian Chain
Sweden The King of Sweden KG 1983 77
recipient of the Royal Victorian Chain
Spain King Juan Carlos I of Spain KG 1988 as King; abdicated 2014 86
recipient of the Royal Victorian Chain
Netherlands Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands LG GCVO 1989 as Queen; abdicated 2013 86
recipient of the Royal Victorian Chain
Japan Emperor Akihito of Japan KG GCVO 1998 as Emperor; abdicated 2019 90
Norway The King of Norway KG GCVO 2001 87
recipient of the Royal Victorian Chain
Spain The King of Spain KG GCVO 2017 56
[2]
Netherlands The King of the Netherlands KG 2018 56

Knights and Ladies Companion[edit]

Member number[N 1] Name Known for Year of appointment Present age Banner
1-(986) The Duke of Abercorn KG Former Lord Steward and former Lord-Lieutenant of Tyrone 1999 89
2-(992) The Lord Butler of Brockwell KG GCB CVO PC Former Cabinet Secretary and former Head of the Home Civil Service 2003 86
3-(994) Sir John Major KG CH PC Former Prime Minister 2005 81
4-(999) The Lord Luce KG GCVO PC DL Former Lord Chamberlain and former Governor of Gibraltar 2008 87
5-(1001) Sir Thomas Dunne KG KCVO JP Former Lord-Lieutenant of Herefordshire and former Lord-Lieutenant of Worcestershire 2008 90
6-(1002) The Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers KG PC KC Former Lord Chief Justice and former President of the Supreme Court 2011 86
7-(1004) Marshal of the Royal Air Force The Lord Stirrup KG GCB AFC Former Chief of the Defence Staff 2013 74
8-(1005) The Baroness Manningham-Buller LG DCB Former Director General of the Security Service 2014 75
9-(1006) The Lord King of Lothbury KG GBE DL FBA Former Governor of the Bank of England 2014 76
10-(1007) The Lord Shuttleworth KG KCVO Former Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire 2016 75
11-(1010) The Viscount Brookeborough KG KStJ Lord in Waiting to The King and Lord-Lieutenant of Fermanagh 2018 71
12-(1011) Lady Mary Fagan LG DCVO JP Former Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire 2018 84
13-(1013) The Marquess of Salisbury KG KCVO PC DL Deputy Lieutenant of Hertfordshire and former Leader of the House of Lords 2019 77
14-(1014) Lady Mary Peters LG CH DBE Olympic gold medallist and former Lord-Lieutenant of Belfast 2019 84
15-(1015) The Baroness Amos LG CH PC Former United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, former Leader of the House of Lords and former Secretary of State for International Development 2022 70
16-(1016) Sir Tony Blair KG PC Former Prime Minister 2022 70
17-(1017) The Baroness Ashton of Upholland LG GCMG PC Former High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and former Leader of the House of Lords 2023 68
18-(1018) The Lord Patten of Barnes KG CH PC Final Governor of Hong Kong, former Chairman of the BBC Trust, and Chancellor of the University of Oxford 2023 79
19-(1019) Air Chief Marshal The Lord Peach KG GBE KCB DL Former Chief of the Defence Staff and former Chair of the NATO Military Committee 2024 68
20-(1020) The Lord Kakkar KG KBE PC Former Chairman of the Judicial Appointments Commission and former Chairman of the House of Lords Appointments Commission 2024 59
21-(1021) The Lord Lloyd-Webber KG Composer and impresario of musical theatre 2024 76
22 Vacant [N 2]    
23 Vacant [N 3]    
24 Vacant [N 4]    

Officers[edit]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ The number shown in brackets is the individual's place in the wider order of appointment since the Order's inception.
  2. ^ Vacant following the death of The Lord Boyce on 6 November 2022.
  3. ^ Vacant following the death of Sir David Brewer on 28 May 2023.
  4. ^ Vacant following the death of The Lord Morris of Aberavon on 5 June 2023.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Addressing the Royal Family - Debrett's at the Wayback Machine (archived 17 February 2017)
  2. ^ ""Every terrorist attack is an attack on every one of us": King of Spain pays tribute to Britain after Manchester and London atrocities - Mirror Online". Mirror.co.uk. 12 July 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  3. ^ "The Register of the Order of the Garter". The Companion – magazine for the College of St George. No. 21. The Dean and Canons of Windsor. 13 June 2015. p. 12. Retrieved 23 April 2021 – via issuu.com.