#royalfamily #orders #familyorder #charlesiii

Yesterday, at the state banquet hosted for the Emperor and Empress of Japan as part of their state visit, we saw the family order of King Charles III appear for the first time. Her Majesty the Queen was wearing her husband’s family order, with his portrait, on her left shoulder above the family order of her late motherinlaw Elizabeth II. The tradition of sovereigns granting female members of their family with a family order containing a portrait medallion goes back as far as the reign of King George IV – and if you want to know more about this fascinating tradition, go and have a look at my longer video on this subject. The order consists of a portrait miniature of the sovereign set within a gold frame embellished with stones and suspended from a coloured ribbon. The order has always been the personal gift of the sovereign and is not automatically granted – and it has been the usual practice since the reign of Edward VII, for the first recipient to be the Queen Consort. So it is no surprise that the Queen is the first person to be seen wearing it.


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