In the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories, personal bravery, achievement, or service are rewarded with honours. The honours system consists of three types of award:
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Government. Before the establishment of the order, Australian citizens received British honours.
This article concerns the orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms awarded by the sovereign in right of each nation.
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. It was founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire.
The New Zealand royal honours system, a system of orders, decorations and medals, recognises achievements of, or service by, New Zealanders or others in connection with New Zealand. Until 1975, New Zealand used the British honours system. Since then the country has introduced a number of uniquely New Zealand honours, and as of 2021, only the dynastic British honours continue in active use in New Zealand, with the exception of the Order of the Companions of Honour.
The Australian honours and awards system refers to all orders, decorations, and medals, as instituted by letters patent from the Monarch of Australia and countersigned by the Australian prime minister at the time, that have been progressively introduced since 14 February 1975. The Australian honours and awards system excludes all state and local government, and private, issued awards and medals.
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or New Zealand monarch, members of the monarch's 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, and its 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.
The Canadian titles debate originated with the presentation to the House of Commons of Canada of the Nickle Resolution in 1917. This resolution marked the earliest attempt to establish a Government of Canada policy requesting the sovereign, in the right of the United Kingdom, not to grant knighthoods, baronetcies and peerages to Canadians, and set the precedent for later policies restricting Canadians from accepting titles from foreign countries. Dissatisfaction with the British honours system led to the gradual creation of a separate system for Canada.
The Fijian honours system dates from the granting of Dominion status in 1970, when the Fijian Independence Medal was awarded to participants in the Fijian independence celebrations. Prior to two military coups, which deposed Elizabeth II as Queen of Fiji, ending the monarchy of Fiji, Fiji also had use of the British Honours System.
The Order of the Nation is a Jamaican honour. It is a part of the Jamaican honours system and was instituted in 1973 as the second-highest honour in the country, with the Order of National Hero being the highest honour.
The monarchy of Antigua and Barbuda is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of Antigua and Barbuda. The current Antiguan and Barbudan monarch and head of state since 8 September 2022, is King Charles III. As sovereign, he is the personal embodiment of the Crown of Antigua and Barbuda. Although the person of the sovereign is equally shared with 14 other independent countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, each country's monarchy is separate and legally distinct. As a result, the current monarch is officially titled King of Antigua and Barbuda and, in this capacity, he and other members of the Royal Family undertake public and private functions domestically and abroad as representatives of Antigua and Barbuda. However, the King is the only member of the Royal Family with any constitutional role.
The Order of National Hero is an honour awarded by the government of Jamaica. It is a part of the Jamaican honours system that has been in place since 1969.
The Order of Jamaica is the fifth of the six orders in the Jamaican honours system. The Order was established in 1969, and it is considered the equivalent of a knighthood in the British honours system.
The Order of Distinction is a national order in the Jamaican honours system. It is the sixth in order of precedence of the Orders of Societies of Honour, which were instituted by an Act of Parliament in 1968. The motto of the Order is "Distinction Through Service".
The Barbados National Honours and Decorations system is similar to that of the United Kingdom. Likewise, it consists of three types of award – honours, decorations and medals. Appointments are made on a yearly basis on Independence Day by the president of Barbados.
The Governor-General of Australia has, at irregular intervals, notified for general information the positioning of the wearing of Australian Orders, Decorations and Medals in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. The Order of Wearing Australian Honours and Awards was last published in 2007, and replaced the previous list published in 2002.
The Order of Wearing of Australian honours includes Imperial honours if they were awarded prior to 6 October 1992. Imperial honours awarded after 5 October 1992 are considered foreign.
The orders, decorations, and medals of Malaysia comprise a complex system by which Malaysians and qualified foreigners 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 orders, decorations, and medals of Malaysia were created after formation of Malaysia. The honour system came to exist earlier during Federation of Malaya. During the British colonial times, honours were given under the British honour system. Johor was the first state to institute its own honours on 31 July 1880. Then, the other Malay states did the same.
The Order of Grenada is an order of chivalry and a society of honour instituted by Queen Elizabeth II in right of Grenada through the National Honours and Awards Act which having been passed by the House of Representatives of Grenada on 16 November 2007 and passed by the Senate of Grenada on 27 November 2007 received Royal Assent on 31 December 2007.
