What do the queens honours stand for

Contact us Sign up for newsletters. Log In Register now My account. By Georgina Littlejohn. June 10, am Updated October 8, pm.

The freshest exclusives and sharpest analysis, curated for your inbox Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem. Both concepts evolved from the mists of our ancient history and should therefore not be discarded or amended without a very great deal of thought. Many people consider both to be stabilising features of our national life. Many other people consider them hopelessly outdated and very divisive. Many other people never give the subject any consideration.

British honours are thought by the public to be awarded on merit, and on the basis of exceptional achievement or service. Alas this is not always the case. The Queen chooses the recipients of honours on the advice of the Prime Minister and other relevant ministers, to whom recommendations are made by their departments or members of the public. Private nominations - those made by individuals or by representatives of organisations to the Prime Minister's Office - account for about a quarter of all recommendations.

Honorary awards to foreigners are recommended by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. Certain of the orders of chivalry are conferred on the sole personal decision of the Sovereign ie, the Order of the Garter, the Order of the Thistle, the Order of Merit and the Royal Victorian Order.

In Prime Minister John Major ended the automatic practice of conferring awards on the holders of certain posts, opening the honours system to more individuals, particularly those in the voluntary sector, who qualify on merit. Following the publication of the Honours List, investitures are held at which recipients of honours other than life peers receive, usually from the Queen, the insignia of the honour robes, badges, ribbons, etc.

Knights receive the accolade see below. Knights and Dames may adopt the prefix 'Sir' or 'Dame' from the date of the official announcement of the honour. Life peerage are the only form of peerage regularly created by the Sovereign these days. All life peers hold the rank of baron, and sit in the House of Lords on conferment of the peerage.

These titles exist only during their own lifetime and are not passed to their heirs. As of July there were life peers, including 65 women. Like knights, baronets are styled 'Sir', and their wives 'Lady', but, unlike a knighthood, this is a heritable honour. The suffix 'Baronet', usually abbreviated to 'Bt', is also added to the name. The honour of knighthood derives from the usages of mediaeval chivalry, as does the method normally used to confer the knighthood: the accolade, or the touch of a sword by the Sovereign.

Although Knights Bachelor do not comprise an order of chivalry, knighthood is a dignity which has its origin in Britain in Saxon times. Knighted members of the orders of chivalry outlined below place initials after their names denoting the class of the order received. Note that not all recipients of orders are necessarily Knights or Dames but only those denoted as such, usually the first or second classes of orders.

Knights and Dames. The honour of knighthood comes from the days of medieval chivalry, as does the method used to confer the knighthood - the accolade, or the touch of a sword by the sovereign. A knight is styled "Sir" and their wives "Lady". Women receiving the honour are styled "Dame" but do not receive the accolade.

The honour is given for a pre-eminent contribution in any field of activity. The Order of the Bath. The Order of the Bath is an order of chivalry and was founded in for service of the highest calibre.

The Order takes its name from the symbolic bathing which, in former times, was often part of the preparation of a candidate for knighthood. Order of St Michael and St George. This Order was founded by King George III in and is awarded to British subjects who have rendered extraordinary and important services abroad or in the Commonwealth.

Order of the Companions Honour. This is awarded for service of conspicuous national importance and is limited to 65 people. Recipients are entitled to put the initials CH after their name. Orders of the British Empire. King George V created these honours during World War One to reward services to the war effort by civilians at home and service personnel in support positions.

They are now awarded for prominent national or regional roles and to those making distinguished or notable contributions in their own specific areas of activity. British Empire Medal. The medal was founded in and was awarded for "meritorious" actions by civilians or military personnel, although the recipients did not attend a royal investiture.

Royal Victorian Order. By , prime ministers and governments had increased their influence over the distribution of awards and had gained almost total control of the system. Royal Victorian Medal. Associated with the Royal Victorian Order is the Royal Victorian Medal which has three grades: gold, silver and bronze.