| Royal Order of Victoria and Albert | |
| Awarded By: | Queen Victoria |
| Type: | Royal Family Order |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Ribbon: | White |
| Eligibility: | Female members of the British royal family and female courtiers |
| Criteria: | At Her Majesty's pleasure |
| For: | Personal service to the monarch |
| Status: | Defunct; not awarded since the death of Queen Victoria |
| Post-Nominals: | VA |
| Date: | 10 February 1862 |
The Royal Order of Victoria and Albert is a British Royal Family Order instituted on 10 February 1862[1] by Queen Victoria, and enlarged on 10 October 1864, 15 November 1865, and 15 March 1880. No award has been made since the death of Queen Victoria.
The order had four classes and was only granted to female members of the British royal family and female courtiers. For the first three classes, the badge consisted of a medallion of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, differing in the width and jewelling of the border as the classes descend, whilst the fourth substitutes a jewelled cipher. All four were surmounted by a crown, which was attached to a bow of white silk moiré ribbon. The honour conferred no rank or title upon the recipient, but recipients were entitled to use the post-nominal letters "VA".
The last holder of the Order, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, died in 1981.
a full list of recipients is published on pages 37 - 41 of Royal Service Volume 2[4]