The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, commonly known as the Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of a military, chivalric, and noble nature. Though it possesses no territory, the order is often considered a sovereign entity under international law.
Paola is a member of the Belgian royal family who was Queen of the Belgians during the reign of her husband, King Albert II, from 9 August 1993 to 21 July 2013.
Dame Emma Hamilton, known upon moving to London as Emma Hart, and upon marriage as Lady Hamilton, was an English maid, model, dancer and actress. She began her career in London's demi-monde, becoming the mistress of a series of wealthy men, culminating in the naval hero Lord Nelson, and was the favourite model and muse of the portraitist George Romney.
The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under the protection of the Holy See. The Pope is the sovereign of the order. The order creates canons as well as knights, with the primary mission to “support the Christian presence in the Holy Land.” It is an internationally recognised order of chivalry. The order today is estimated to have some 30,000 knights and dames in 60 lieutenancies around the world. The Cardinal Grand Master has been Fernando Filoni since 2019, and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is ex officio the Order's Grand Prior. Its headquarters are situated at the Palazzo Della Rovere and its official church in Sant'Onofrio al Gianicolo, both in Rome, close to Vatican City.
John FitzGibbon, 2nd Earl of Clare KP GCH PC was an Anglo Irish aristocrat and politician.
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.
Lady of the Bedchamber is the title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a British queen regnant or queen consort. The position is traditionally held by the wife of a peer. A lady of the bedchamber would give instructions to the women of the bedchamber on what their queen wished them to do, or may carry out those duties herself.
Sir Conrad Marshall John Fisher Swan was a Canadian-British herald who was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Having been first appointed to work at the College in 1962, he rose to the office of Garter Principal King of Arms in 1992, a position he held until 1995. He was the first Canadian ever to be appointed to the College of Arms.
Woldingham School is an independent boarding and day school for girls, located in the former Marden Park of 700 acres (280 ha) outside the village of Woldingham, Surrey, in South East England.
Major-General Gilbert Walter Riversdale Monckton, 2nd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, served in the British Army from 1939 to 1967. He was Army director of public relations in the 1960s when the conduct of the Army's personnel came under scrutiny during the Profumo affair.
The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the world, tracing its lineage to AD 1098, and it is one of the rare orders of knighthood recognized by papal bull, in this case by Pope Gregory XIII. In that bull, Pope Gregory XIII bestowed upon Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy and his Savoy successors, the right to confer this knighthood in perpetuity. The Grand Master is Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Prince of Venice, also known as the Duke of Savoy, the grandson of the last King of Italy, Umberto II. However, Emanuele Filiberto's cousin twice removed Prince Aimone, Duke of Aosta claims to be grand master as his father claimed to be head of the house of Savoy.
Montagu Arthur Bertie, 7th Earl of Abingdon was an English peer.
Lady Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, DCVO DStJ was a Woman of the Bedchamber to Queen Mary from 1937 to 1953 and Lady-in-Waiting to Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent from 1953 to 1960.
Christopher Walter Monckton, 3rd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley is a British public speaker and hereditary peer. He is known for his work as a journalist, Conservative political advisor, UKIP political candidate, and for his invention of the mathematical puzzle Eternity.
The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, also historically referred to as the Imperial Constantinian Order of Saint George and the Order of the Constantinian Angelic Knights of Saint George, is a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Currently, the grand magistry of the order is disputed among the two claimants to the headship of the formerly reigning House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as heirs of the House of Farnese, namely Prince Pedro and Prince Carlo. The order was one of the rare orders confirmed as a religious-military order in the papal bull Militantis Ecclesiae in 1718, owing to a notable success in liberating Christians in the Peloponnese. Together with the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, it is one of a small number of Catholic orders that still have this status today. It is not an order of chivalry under the patronage of the Holy See, but its membership is restricted to practising Catholics.
Augusta Mary Monica Crichton-Stuart, Marchioness of Bute,, was an Anglo-Irish aristocrat who was a daughter of Sir Henry Bellingham, 4th Baronet, and Lady Constance Julia Eleanor Georgiana Noel, daughter of Charles Noel, 2nd Earl of Gainsborough.
Dame Rosamund Mary Holland-Martin, DBE, DL was a British long-term leader and fund-raiser for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).
Dame Margaret Helen Greville,, was a British society hostess and philanthropist. She was the wife of the Hon. Ronald Greville (1864–1908).
Mary McShain was an Irish-American landowner and benefactor.
Dominique, Prince et Comte de La Rochefoucauld-Montbel, Officer of the Légion d’Honneur, is a member of the House of La Rochefoucauld and was the Grand Hospitaller of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the president of the French Association. He is today Vice-President of the Foundation of the Order and president of the historical academy. He is president of the foundation for Evangelization through the Media (FEM). The Prince branch of the family is closely linked with the Holy Mary apparitions in Pellevoisin (France) and the discovery of the Lascaux Caves which they owned with the marriage of Emmanuel, Prince and Count, Ambassadeur of the Order of Malta, and Simone Darblay. That branch is from the dukes of Estissac and due to their proximity with Napoléon, they are linked with Roman nobility with unions with the Borghese.
