List of Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order appointed by Victoria

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The star of a Knight or Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order GCVO star.jpg
The star of a Knight or Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order

The Royal Victorian Order is an order of knighthood awarded by the sovereign of the United Kingdom and several Commonwealth realms. It is granted personally by the monarch and recognises personal service to the monarchy, the Royal Household, royal family members, and the organisation of important royal events. [1] [2] The order was officially created and instituted on 23 April 1896 by letters patent under the Great Seal of the Realm by Queen Victoria. [3] It was instituted with five grades, Knight Grand Cross (GCVO), Knight Commander (KCVO), Commander (CVO), Member (fourth class) and Member (fifth class), the last two of which were abbreviated to MVO. The two highest conferred the status of knighthood on holders; in 1984, the grade of Member (fourth class) was renamed Lieutenant (LVO), and holders of the fifth grade became Members. [4] Women were not admitted until 1936; those receiving the highest two awards were styled Dames and those grades, when conferred on women, are Dame Grand Cross and Dame Commander (DCVO). [5] The order could also be conferred on foreigners, who were typically appointed to honorary grades and were thus not entitled to the styles, such as Sir and Dame, associated with ordinary grades. [6] [7]

Contents

Queen Victoria (reigned 1837--1901) Queen Victoria old.jpg
Queen Victoria (reigned 1837—1901)

No limit was placed on the number of appointments which could be made. [8] The first two appointments were to Queen Victoria's sons, Albert, Prince of Wales, and Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, who both received the highest grade on 6 May 1896. The first honorary GCVO to be appointed was Arsène Henry, the Prefect of the Alpes Maritimes, France, two days later. Queen Victoria appointed 19 Knights Grand Cross, plus an additional 28 honorary Knights Grand Cross, between the order's institution and her death on 22 January 1901; of those 19, six were to Princes of the United Kingdom—her own children, grandchildren or other close relatives—and a further seven to those already holding a peerage. [9]

The foreign appointments included 14 Germans, six Russians, two Frenchmen, and one Austro-Hungarian, Chinese, Dane, Egyptian, Montenegrin and Spanish citizens. The King of Spain, Emperor of Germany and Prince of Montenegro were among them, along with several German princes and courtiers from Russia and Germany. Five honorary appointments were made to mark the Coronation of Nicholas II of Russia in 1896 and four to mark the occasion of the German Emperor's visit to England in 1899. [9]

Appointed by Queen Victoria

The list below is ordered by date of appointment. Full names, styles, ranks and titles are given where applicable, as correct at the time of appointment to the order. Branch of service or regiment details are given in parentheses to distinguish them from offices. The offices listed are those given in the official notice, printed in the London Gazette. Where applicable, the occasion is given that was listed either with the notices or in published material elsewhere, in which case that material is cited.

NameCountryDate of appointmentOfficeOccasionNotes
Field Marshal Albert Edward, Prince of Wales United Kingdom6 May 1896—— [10]
General Prince Arthur William Patrick Albert, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn United Kingdom6 May 1896—— [10]
Arsène Henry*France8 May 1896Préfet des Alpes Maritimes Queen's visit to Cimiez, Nice [11] [12]
William John Arthur Charles James Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland United Kingdom25 May 1896 Master of the Horse — [13]
Sidney Herbert, 14th Earl of Pembroke and 11th Earl of Montgomery United Kingdom25 May 1896 Lord Steward of the Household— [13]
Charles John Colville, 10th Baron Colville of Culross KT United Kingdom25 May 1896Chamberlain to HRH Alexandra, Princess of Wales — [13]
General Sir Dighton MacNaghten Probyn VC KCB KCSI United Kingdom25 May 1896Comptroller and Treasurer of the Household of HRH Albert, Prince of Wales— [14]
Count Illarion Ivanovich Vorontsov-Dashkov*Russian Empire30 May 1896Minister of the Imperial Court, Adjutant-General and General of Cavalry Emperor of Russia's coronation [12] [15]
General Otto de Richter*Russian Empire30 May 1896Commandant of the Imperial Headquarters, General Adjutant and General of the Infantry [12] [15]
Count Constantine Pahlen*Russian Empire30 May 1896Secretary of State, Actual Privy Councillor and Arch Grand Marshal [12] [15]
Prince Alexis Dolgorouky*Russian Empire30 May 1896Grand Master of the Ceremonies [12] [15]
Major-General Prince Dmitri Galitzin*Russian Empire30 May 1896(Caucasian Cossacks of the Line), in the staff of Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia [12] [15]
William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin United Kingdom7 July 1896—— [16]
Count Joachim Moltke*Denmark21 July 1896Comptroller and Treasurer of the Household of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark, and Chamberlain to the King of DenmarkThe wedding of Prince Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud of Wales [12] [17]
Li Hongzhang*Chinese Empire5 August 1896— Emperor of China's mission [12] [18]
Count Paul Benkendarf KCVO *Russian Empire31 October 1896Master of the Household of the Emperor of RussiaEmperor of Russia's visit to Queen Victoria [12] [19]
Count Götz Burkhard Seckendorff*German Empire6 March 1897Comptroller of the Household of the German Empress — [12] [20]
Nicholas I, Prince of Montenegro*Montenegro26 March 1897—— [12] [21]
Lieutenant-General Edward von Müller*German Empire28 March 1897Inspector-General of Rifles, BerlinThe Duke of Connaught's visit to Berlin [22] [23]
Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg*German Empire26 April 1897—— [23] [24]
Captain Prince George Frederick Ernest Albert, Duke of York KG KT PC United Kingdom30 June 1897—— [25]
Field Marshal Prince George William Frederick Charles, Duke of Cambridge KG KT KP GCB GCH GCSI GCMG GCIE PC ADC United Kingdom30 June 1897—— [25]
Prince Albert John Charles Frederick George of Schleswig-Holstein United Kingdom30 June 1897—— [25]
Francis Paul Charles Louis Alexander, Duke of Teck United Kingdom30 June 1897—— [25]
Richard William Penn Curzon-Howe, 3rd Earl Howe CB United Kingdom30 June 1897—— [25]
William Henry Edgcumbe, 4th Earl of Mount Edgcumbe United Kingdom30 June 1897—— [25]
Count Arthur August von Mensdorff-Pouilly*Austro-Hungarian Empire30 June 1897—— [25]
Alfonso XIII, King of Spain*Spain28 July 1897—— [26]
Emich Edward Charles, the Hereditary Prince of Leiningen German Empire8 September 1898—— [27]
General François de Négrier*France26 August 1898Membre du Conseil Supérieur de la Guerre, Inspecteur d'ArméeThe Duke of Connaught's attendance at the recent French Military Manoeuvres [28]
Major Prince Christian Victor Albert Louis Ernest Anthony of Schleswig-Holstein German Empire8 December 1898(King's Royal Rifle Corps)— [29]
Prince Alfred Ernest Albert, Reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duke of Edinburgh KG KT KP GCB GCSI GCMG GCIE PC United Kingdom24 May 1899—— [30]
Prince Arthur Frederick Patrick Albert of Connaught and Strathearn United Kingdom24 May 1899—— [30]
Prince Joachim Karl Wilhelm Fredrich Leopold of Prussia*German Empire29 September 1899—— [31]
Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia*German Empire21 November 1899—— [32]
Count Bernhard Heinrich Karl Martin von Bülow*German Empire23 November 1899 Foreign Secretary of the German Empire German Emperor's visit to Queen Victoria [23] [33]
Count August zu Eulenburg*German Empire23 November 1899Grand Marshal of the Court of the German Emperor [23] [33]
Hans Georg Hermann von Plessen*German Empire23 November 1899 Aide-de-camp general of the Emperor of Germany and Commandant of the Headquarters Staff [23] [33]
Admiral Baron Gustav von Senden-Bibran*German Empire23 November 1899Admiral à la suite of the German Emperor and Chief of the Marine Cabinet [23] [33]
Gustavus Ernest, Count of Erbach-Schonberg KCVO *German Empire31 March 1900Colonel à la suite of the Grand Ducal Hessian Army— [23] [34]
Freiherr August von Woellwarth-Lauterburg*German Empire31 March 1900Chamberlain and Grand Marshal (Oberhofmarschall) of the Court of the King of Württemberg, Colonel à la suite of the Army — [23] [34]
Lieutenant-General Sir George Stewart White VC GCB GCSI GCIE United Kingdom7 May 1900—On his return from active service in South Africa [23] [35]
Abbas Pasha, Khedive of Egypt GCB GCMG *Egypt28 June 1900—His visit to Queen Victoria at Windsor [36] [37]
Henry XXX, Prince Reuss*German Empire16 July 1900—— [38]
John Adrian Louis Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun KT GCMG United Kingdom19 September 1900 Governor General of Australia, late Lord Chamberlain to Queen Victoria— [39] [40]
Gustav Carl Heinrich Ferdinand Emil von Arnim*German Empire20 December 1900à la suite of the Guard, Jäger Battalion— [37] [41]
Lieutenant-General Gustav von Kessel*German Empire18 January 1901Aide-de-Camp general of the German EmperorDuke of Connaught's visit to Berlin for the Bicentenary of the foundation of the Kingdom of Prussia [37] [42]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Victorian Order</span> British order of chivalry established 1896

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.

References

Bibliography

Citations

  1. ↑ "Royal Victorian Order", royal.gov.uk (accessed 16 August 2014). Archived 19 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Royal Victorian Order", gg.ca (accessed 16 August 2014)
  3. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 26733, p. 2455
  4. ↑ McCreery, 2008, p. 29
  5. ↑ Duckers, 2004, p. 38
  6. ↑ Honorary Knighthood Archived 2015-03-16 at the Wayback Machine , debretts.com (accessed on 20 August 2014).
  7. ↑ Knighthood, royal.gov.uk (accessed on 20 August 2014). Archived 31 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ McCreery, 2008, pp. 28-29
  9. 1 2 A complete list of those receiving the GCVO during Queen Victoria's reign may be found in Shaw, 1906, pp. 417-419, and those being appointed honorary GCVO at ibid., pp. 422-424.
  10. 1 2 The London Gazette, issue 26737, p. 2728
  11. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 26740, p. 2988
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Shaw, 1906, p. 422
  13. 1 2 3 The London Gazette, issue 26743, p. 3123
  14. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 26743, p. 3124
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 The London Gazette, issue 26755, p. 3853
  16. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 26758, p. 4025
  17. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 26762, p. 4285
  18. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 26769, p. 4692
  19. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 26791, p. 6006
  20. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 26831, p. 1469
  21. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 26839, p. 1945
  22. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 26838, p. 1881
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Shaw, 1906, p. 423
  24. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 26851, p. 2602
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 The London Gazette, issue 26871, p. 3819
  26. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 26880, p. 4422
  27. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 27007, p. 5599
  28. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 27020, p. 6451
  29. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 27032, p. 8045
  30. 1 2 The London Gazette, issue 27083, p. 3335
  31. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 27125, p. 6114
  32. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 27139, p. 7929
  33. 1 2 3 4 The London Gazette, issue 27140, p. 8089
  34. 1 2 The London Gazette, issue 27181, p. 2345
  35. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 27192, p. 3070
  36. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 27208, p. 4195
  37. 1 2 3 Shaw, 1906, p. 424
  38. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 27212, p. 4510
  39. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 27237, p. 6252
  40. ↑ Shaw, 1906, p. 418
  41. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 27264, p. 157
  42. ↑ The London Gazette, issue 27279, p. 694

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