<<< Previous Page     Next Page >>>

The foundation of the Most Noble Order of the Garter by King Edward III in 1348 served a double purpose.  It brought together in close companionship The Sovereign and twenty-five of the outstanding military leaders of the country; it also established a new fellowship in religious worship, 'to the honor of Almighty God, the glorious Virgin Saint Mary and Saint George the Martyr.'

Each year at St George's-tide in April The Sovereign and Knights come together in Windsor Castle for a Festival lasting three days.  During the festival, the Knights met in Chapter, feasted in St George's Hall in the Upper Ward, and occupied their stalls in St George's Chapel for Mattins, the Eucharist, Evensong and a Requiem for departed Knights.

The Festival was observed annually (though not always at St George's-tide) for two centuries and then with rather less frequency until sometime after the year 1674.  Occasional services for the Installation of new knights were held until 1805 but during the remainder of the  nineteenth and early part of th twentieth century the life of the Order was restricted to Chapter meetings for elections and investitures, which were normally held in London.

IN the twentieth century few Garter services wee held, until that of 23 April 1948 when, to celebrate the six-hundredth anniversary of the inauguration of the Order, His late Majesty King George VI commanded the Knights to assemble at Windsor Castle for a Chapter meeting , procession through the Castle, and a service in St George's Chapel.  Since then a Garter Day of this type has been held with regularity, and is now once more, as it had been for many centuries, a vital expression of the life of the Order.

It is significant that, when on Garter Day a new Knight is invested, he or she still receives exhortation of the Christian Faith.  The procession in which he or she walks is not only the means of proceeding from the Upper Ward to the Chapel but is also public witness to the long tradition of The Sovereign and leaders of the nation giving their allegiance to God.  The essence of the service itself is the singing of the solemn Te Deum, that is, a hymn of thanksgiving to God for His work of creating, renewing and sustaining the world.

The Queen was born in London on 21 April 1926, the first child of The Duke and Duchess of York, subsequently King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Five weeks later she was christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary in the chapel at Buckingham Palace.

The Princess's early years were spent at 145 Piccadilly, the London house taken by her parents shortly after her birth; at White Lodge in Richmond Park; and at the country homes of her grandparents, King George V and Queen Mary, and the Earl and Countess of Strathmore. When she was six years old, her parents took over Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park as their own country home.

***

Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich, was born Prince of Greece and Denmark in Corfu on 10 June 1921.

He was born the only son of Prince Andrew of Greece. His paternal family is of Danish descent - Prince Andrew was the grandson of King Christian IX of Denmark.

His mother was Princess Alice of Battenberg, the eldest child of Prince Louis of Battenberg and sister of Earl Mountbatten of Burma. Prince Louis became a naturalised British subject in 1868, joined the Royal Navy and rose to become an Admiral of the Fleet and First Sea Lord in 1914.

During the First World War Prince Louis changed the family name to Mountbatten and was created Marquess of Milford Haven. Prince Philip adopted the family name of Mountbatten when he became a naturalised British subject and renounced his Royal title in 1947.

Prince Louis married one of Queen Victoria's granddaughters. Thus, The Queen and Prince Philip both have Queen Victoria as a great-great-grandmother. They are also related through his father's side. His paternal grandfather, King George I of Greece, was Queen Alexandra's brother.

The Prince of Wales is the eldest son of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh. He was born on 14 November, 1948 and christened Charles Philip Arthur George on 15 December that year in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace.

The Prince of Wales married Mrs Camilla Parker Bowles on 9 April 2005 at a civil ceremony at the Guildhall in Windsor, followed by a service of prayer and dedication in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

After the wedding, Mrs Parker Bowles became known as HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. When The Prince of Wales accedes to the throne, she will be known as HRH The Princess Consort.

The Princess Royal, the second child and only daughter of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, was born at Clarence House, London, on 15 August 1950, when her mother was Princess Elizabeth, heir presumptive to the throne. She was baptized Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise at Buckingham Palace on 21 October 1950.

She received the title Princess Royal from The Queen in June 1987; she was previously known as Princess Anne. Her Royal Highness is the seventh holder of the title.

***

The Earl of Wessex is the third son and youngest child of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh. He was born on 10 March 1964 and christened Edward Antony Richard Louis.

Upon his marriage to Miss Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999, he was created The Earl of Wessex and Viscount Severn. At the same time it was announced that His Royal Highness will be given the title Duke of Edinburgh in due course, when the present title now held by Prince Philip eventually reverts to the Crown.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex both carry out many engagements in support of The Queen, and on behalf of a number of organizations with which they are associated.

Margaret Thatcher to the far right.  Thatcher was the longest-serving British Prime Minister since Gladstone, and had the longest continuous period in office since Lord Liverpool in the early nineteenth century. She is also the only woman to have served as Prime Minister or as leader of a major political party in the UK, and (with Margaret Beckett) one of only two women to hold any of the four great offices of state. Undoubtedly one of the most significant British politicians in recent political history, she has tended to attract both strong support and strong opposition.

<<< Previous Page     Next Page >>>