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.
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 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 Russian tradition of the Knights Hospitaller is a collection of charitable organisations claiming continuity with the Russian Orthodox grand priory of the Order of Saint John. The order emerged when Malta was captured by Napoleon in 1798 during the expedition to Egypt. The Grand Master at the stronghold of Malta, Ferdinand von Hompesch, failed to anticipate or prepare for the threat. The Order continued to exist in a diminished form and negotiated with European governments for a return to power. The Emperor of Russia gave shelter to the largest number of Knights in St Petersburg and this gave rise to the Russian tradition of the Knights Hospitaller and recognition within the Russian Imperial Orders. In gratitude the Knights declared Ferdinand von Hompesch deposed and Emperor Paul I was elected as the new Grand Master. The continuous Order was also approved by the Papacy, but due to British fear of Russian taking presence in the Mediterranean and because many knights were Orthodox the Order became de facto the traditional Order but de jure not recognised similar or at par with the formation of the 19th-century Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedicated to St John the Baptist.
The Museum of the Order of St John in Clerkenwell, London, tells the story of the Venerable Order of Saint John from its roots as a pan-European Order of Hospitaller Knights founded in Jerusalem during the Crusades, to its present commitment to providing first aid and care in the community through the St John Ambulance Brigade and running an Ophthalmic Hospital in Jerusalem. The museum is a member of the London Museums of Health & Medicine.
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 orders, decorations, and medals of Canada comprise a complex system by which Canadians are honoured by the country's sovereign for actions or deeds that benefit their community or the country at large. Modelled on its British predecessor, the structure originated in the 1930s, but began to come to full fruition at the time of Canada's centennial in 1967, with the establishment of the Order of Canada, and has since grown in both size and scope to include dynastic and national orders, state, civil, and military decorations; and various campaign medals. The monarch in right of each Canadian province also issues distinct orders and medals to honour residents for work performed in just their province. The provincial honours, as with some of their national counterparts, grant the use of post-nominal letters and or supporters and other devices to be used on personal coats of arms.
Sir Peter Llewellyn Gwynn-Jones was a long-serving Officer of Arms at the College of Arms in London. He was Garter Principal King of Arms, the senior English officer of arms, from 1995 to 2010.
Sir Conrad Marshall John Fisher Swan 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.
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller, is a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was founded in the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there until 1291, thereafter being based in Kolossi Castle in Cyprus (1302–1310), the island of Rhodes (1310–1522), Malta (1530–1798), and Saint Petersburg (1799–1801).
Neil Raymond Conn, is an Australian economist and former Administrator of the Northern Territory (1997–2000).
Guy Stair Sainty, is a British art dealer and author on nobility, royal genealogy, and heraldry.
The Service Medal of the Order of St John is awarded to recognise both conspicuous and long service with the Venerable Order of St John, particularly in St John Ambulance, both in the United Kingdom and in a number of other Commonwealth countries and Hong Kong. The award was announced in the St John Ambulance Brigade General Regulations for 1895 and minted in 1899, though the first honourees had been selected the previous year.
Lieutenant-Colonel Howard Norman Cole OBE TD F.R.Hist.S DL was a serving officer in the British Army during the Second World War and was an author of books on military subjects.
Surgeon Rear Admiral Lionel John Jarvis, CBE, KStJ, QHS, FRCR, DL is a British consultant radiologist. He was previously the Surgeon General of the Royal Navy and the Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff for Health. He served as the Royal Navy's Chief Medical Officer and Medical Director General (Naval) until April 2012. He was appointed as an Honorary Surgeon to the Queen (QHS) in 2006. He was both the Prior of England and the Islands of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem and the Chair of St John Ambulance from 2016 to 2021.
The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem is a Christian order that was statuted in 1910 by a council of Catholics in Paris, France, initially under the protection of Patriarch Cyril VIII Geha of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. During the 1920s, it expanded its jurisdiction and enrolled members from other countries in Europe and in the Americas. It re-established the office of grand master in 1935, linking the office to members of the Spanish branch of the House of Bourbon. It assumed an ecumenical dimension during the 1950s to expand its membership to individuals of other Trinitarian Christian denominations in British Commonwealth countries.
The Priory in the United States of America is one of the establishments of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem. It is one of eleven international priories and the representative of the Order in the United States of America. The main purpose of the Priory is to provide for the financial support of the St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group. It also contributes to other projects of the Order of St John around the world, responds to special appeals for disaster relief, and maintains a volunteer service corps that serves veterans in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
