Order of the Bath

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the ancient ceremony wherein individuals participated in a vigil of fasting, prayer, and bathing on the day before being knighted (the ceremony was discontinued in 1815).

Composition

The British Sovereign is the Sovereign of the Order of the Bath. The next-most senior member of the Order is the Great Master; HRH The Prince of Wales has been the Great Master since 1975. The Sovereign makes all appointments to the Order on the advice of the Government. The statutes also provide for :

Related Topics:
British Sovereign - HRH The Prince of Wales - 1975

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• 120 Knights or Dames Grand Cross (GCB), (of whom the Great Master is the First and Principal)
• 355 Knights Commander (KCB) or Dames Commander (DCB)
• 1,925 Companions (CB).

Women were not admitted to the Order until 1971. In 1975, Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, an aunt of Elizabeth II, became the first to reach the highest rank, Dame Grand Cross. Regular membership is limited to citizens of the United Kingdom and of Commonwealth countries. Non-Commonwealth foreigners, however, may be made Honorary Members. For instance, two individuals were made Knights Grand Cross shortly after the conclusion of their terms as Presidents of the United States: Ronald Reagan (in 1989) and George H. W. Bush (in 1993), and one almost a decade before for his service as Supreme Allied Commander in World War II Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Related Topics:
1971 - 1975 - Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester - Elizabeth II - Presidents of the United States - Ronald Reagan - 1989 - George H. W. Bush - 1993 - Dwight D. Eisenhower

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The limits prescribed by the statutes of the Order have often been raised; the Order originally consisted of less than forty members, but now includes over two thousand. The statutes permit the Sovereign to disregard the limits when appointing members whose actions deserve a "peculiar honour or reward." These "Additional Members," as well as Honorary Members, do not count towards the numerical maxima imposed by the statutes.

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