Collar days are designated days on which the collar forming part of the insignia of certain members of British orders of knighthood may be worn.
Collars are special large and elaborate ceremonial metal chains worn over the shoulders, hanging equally over the front and back, often tied with a bow at the shoulders, with a distinctive pendant attached to the front.
Collars are worn by Knights and Ladies Companion of the Order of the Garter, Knights and Ladies of the Order of the Thistle, and Knights and Dames Grand Cross of other orders. Of the last mentioned, the only currently active orders are the Order of the Bath, the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, the Royal Victorian Order and the Order of the British Empire; the Order of Saint Patrick, the Order of the Star of India and the Order of the Indian Empire are now in abeyance. The collar can be worn on specific collar days throughout the year.
Collar days, in accordance with instructions of the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, are: [1] [2] [3]
date | day | status |
---|---|---|
variable | Easter Sunday | current [1] |
variable | Easter Monday | abeyance [1] [2] |
variable | Easter Tuesday | abeyance [1] [2] |
variable | Ascension Day | current [1] |
variable | Whit Sunday | current [1] |
variable | Whit Monday | abeyance [1] [2] |
variable | Whit Tuesday | abeyance [1] [2] |
variable | Trinity Sunday | current [1] |
1 January | New Year's Day | current [1] |
6 January | Epiphany | current [1] |
25 January | Conversion of St Paul | current [1] |
2 February | Presentation of Christ in the Temple (also called Candlemas) | current [1] |
24 February | St Matthias' Day | current [1] |
1 March | St David's Day | current [1] |
17 March | St Patrick's Day | abeyance [1] [2] |
25 March | Lady Day (also called Annunciation Day) | current [1] |
23 April | St George's Day | current [1] |
25 April | St Mark's Day | abeyance [1] [2] |
1 May | St Philip and St James' Day | abeyance [1] [2] |
6 May | The King's Coronation | current [1] |
29 May | Restoration of the Royal Family | current [1] |
24 June | St John the Baptist's Day | current [1] |
29 June | St Peter's Day | abeyance [1] [2] |
25 July | St James' Day | abeyance [1] [2] |
6 August | Transfiguration Day | current [1] |
24 August | St Bartholomew's Day | abeyance [1] [2] |
8 September | The King's Accession | current [1] |
21 September | St Matthew's Day | current [1] |
29 September | St Michael and All Angels' Day | current [1] |
18 October | St Luke's Day | abeyance [1] [2] |
28 October | St Simon and St Jude's Day | abeyance [1] [2] |
1 November | All Saints' Day | current [1] |
14 November | The King's Birthday | current [1] |
30 November | St Andrew's Day | current [1] |
21 December | St Thomas' Day | abeyance [1] [2] |
25 December | Christmas Day | current [1] |
26 December | St Stephen's Day | current [1] |
28 December | Holy Innocents' Day | current [1] |
Collars are also worn when the King opens or prorogues Parliament, and a few other observances; including religious services of the various orders, and by those taking part in the Ceremony of Introduction of a Peer in the House of Lords. [1] [2] [4]
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, it is decoration outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George Cross. The Order of the Garter is dedicated to the image and arms of Saint George, England's patron saint.
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organizations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established on 4 June 1917 by King George V and comprises five classes across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two of which make the recipient either a knight if male or dame if female. There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of, the order.
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, of which bathing was an element. Knights so created were known as 'Knights of the Bath'. George I constituted the Knights of the Bath a regular 'Military Order'. He did not revive the Order of the Bath, which had not previously existed as an Order, in the sense of a body of knights governed by a set of statutes and whose numbers were replenished when vacancies occurred.
The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick is a dormant British order of chivalry associated with Ireland. The Order was created in 1783 by King George III at the request of the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, The 3rd Earl Temple. The regular creation of knights of the Order lasted until 1922, when most of Ireland gained independence as the Irish Free State, a dominion within what was then known as the British Commonwealth of Nations. While the Order technically still exists, no knight of St Patrick has been created since 1936, and the last surviving knight, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, died in 1974. Charles III, however, remains the Sovereign of the Order, and one officer, the Ulster King of Arms, also survives. St Patrick is patron of the order; its motto is Quis separabit?, Latin for "Who will separate [us]?": an allusion to the Vulgate translation of Romans 8:35, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?"
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III.
The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier order. The order consists of the sovereign and sixteen knights and ladies, as well as certain "extra" knights. The sovereign alone grants membership of the order; they are not advised by the government, as occurs with most other orders.
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the monarch. The present monarch, King Charles III, is the sovereign of the order. The order's motto is Victoria. The order's official day is 20 June. The order's chapel is the Savoy Chapel in London.
The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:
The Order of the Dannebrog is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known as White Knights to distinguish them from the Blue Knights who were members of the Order of the Elephant. In 1808, the Order was reformed and divided into four classes. The statute of the Order was amended in 1951 by a Royal Ordinance so that both men and women could be members of the Order. Today, the Order of the Dannebrog is a means of honouring and rewarding the faithful servants of the modern Danish state for meritorious civil or military service, for a particular contribution to the arts, sciences or business life, or for working for Danish interests.
The fount of honour is a person, who, by virtue of his or her official position, has the exclusive right of conferring legitimate titles of nobility and orders of chivalry on other persons.
The Order of the Elephant is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in 1849, is now almost exclusively used to honour royalty and heads of state.
The Royal Order of the Sword is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Seraphim and the Order of the Polar Star. The motto of the order is in Latin: Pro Patria.
The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav.
A necklet is a type of decoration which is designed to be worn and displayed around a person's neck, rather than hung (draped) from the chest as is the standard practice for displaying most decorations.
The Royal Order of the Seraphim is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Polar Star. The order has only one class with the dignity of Knight, and is the foremost order of Sweden.
The accolade was the central act in the rite of passage ceremonies conferring knighthood in the Middle Ages.
An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is an order of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades and paired with medieval concepts of ideals of chivalry.
A livery collar or chain of office is a collar or heavy chain, usually of gold, worn as insignia of office or a mark of fealty or other association in Europe from the Middle Ages onwards.
The Royal Order of Vasa is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was unrestricted by birth or education and could therefore be awarded to anyone. It was the most junior of all the Swedish orders. It was often awarded to Norwegian subjects of the dual monarchy until Oscar I founded the Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1847. Previously considered dormant from 1974, the order has again been active since 1 February 2023.
A collar, also known as collar of an order, is an ornate chain, often made of gold and enamel, and set with precious stones, which is worn about the neck as a symbol of membership in various chivalric orders. It is a particular form of the livery collar, the grandest form of the widespread phenomenon of livery in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period. Orders which have several grades often reserve the collar for the highest grade. The links of the chain are usually composed of symbols of the order, and the badge of the order normally hangs down in front. Sometimes the badge is referred to by what is depicted on it; for instance, the badge that hangs from the chain of the Order of the Garter is referred to as "the George".