British honours system

The honours system of the United Kingdom is a means of rewarding personal bravery, achievement or service to the country. The system is made up of three types of award: honours, decorations and medals.

Old orders of chivalry

Each order was created for a particular reason at a particular time. In some cases the reason has ceased to be valid and the order has fallen into abeyance.

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• The Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick (1783)
• The Royal Guelphic Order (1815)
• The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India (1861)
• The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire (1878)
• The Imperial Order of the Crown of India (1878)

The Order of St Patrick is no longer used because of Irish independence. The last surviving knight died in 1974.

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The Royal Guelphic Order was only used briefly as a UK honour. This three class honour was infamous in its time, but ceased to be used in the UK in 1837.

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Orders related to the Indian Empire are also defunct. The Order of the Star of India was the senior order, divided into three grades - Knight Grand Commander, Knight Commander and Companion (females were not eligible). The highest rank was conferred upon the Princes and Chiefs of Indian states and upon important British civil servants in India. The junior order, the Order of the Indian Empire, was divided into the same ranks and also excluded women. There was a third order, the Order of the Crown of India, that was open exclusively to ladies. The members, all of the same grade, included the wives and close female relatives of Indian Princes or Chiefs, the Viceroy or Governor-General, the Governors of Bombay, Madras and Bengal, the Principal Secretary of State for India and the Commander-in-Chief in India. Appointments to all of these orders ceased upon Indian independence in 1947.

Related Topics:
Indian Empire - Order of the Crown of India

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Reforms of the system have sometimes made other changes. For example the medal of the Order of the British Empire ceased to be awarded in the UK in 1993, as was the companion level award of the Imperial Service Order (although its medal is still used).

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