Royal Family Order of Elizabeth II explained

Royal Family Order of Elizabeth II
Awarded By:	Queen Elizabeth II
Type:	Royal Family Order
Founded:	1952
Country:	United Kingdom
Ribbon:	Chartreuse yellow
Eligibility:	Female members of the British royal family
Criteria:	At Her Majesty's pleasure
For:	Personal service to the monarch
Status:	Not awarded since the death of Elizabeth II
First Induction:	1952
Last Induction:	2017

The Royal Family Order of Elizabeth II is an honour which was bestowed on female members of the British royal family by Queen Elizabeth II. The order is worn by recipients on formal occasions.^[1]

Appearance

The Royal Family Order depicts a young Queen Elizabeth II in evening dress wearing the ribbon and star of the Order of the Garter. The miniature, painted on ivory (glass since 2017), is bordered by diamonds and surmounted by a Tudor Crown in diamonds and red enamel. The reverse, in silver-gilt, is patterned with rays and depicts the royal cypher and St Edward's Crown in gold and enamel. The watered silk ribbon is chartreuse yellow and formed into a bow. It is worn pinned to the dress of the recipient on the left shoulder.

It was provided in two different sizes: the larger version was bestowed on the Queen's mother, grandmother and sister, and size two to the other recipients.^[2] (After the death of Queen Mary, Princess Margaret began wearing her grandmother's size 1 badge.)^[3] The size of the badges worn by both Diana, Princess of Wales, and Queen Camilla also match that of the size 1 badges.

List of known recipients

The initial badges were presented at Christmas 1952.

Deceased

Size 1:

• 1952: Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (mother of Elizabeth II)^[4]
• 1952: Queen Mary (grandmother of Elizabeth II)^[5]
• 1952: Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (younger sister of Elizabeth II)^[6]
• 1981: Diana, Princess of Wales (daughter-in-law of Elizabeth II)^{[7] [5]}

Size 2:

• 1952: Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (aunt of Elizabeth II)^[5]
• 1952: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (aunt of Elizabeth II)^[5]
• 1952: Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (aunt of Elizabeth II)^[5]
• 1952: Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (great-aunt of Elizabeth II)^[8]

Living

• 1952: Princess Alexandra, The Hon. Lady Ogilvy (first cousin of Elizabeth II)^[9]
• 1961: The Duchess of Kent (wife of Elizabeth II's first cousin)^[10]
• 1969: The Princess Royal (daughter of Elizabeth II)^[5]
• 1973: The Duchess of Gloucester (wife of Elizabeth II's first cousin)^[11]
• 2004: The Duchess of Edinburgh (daughter-in-law of Elizabeth II)^[12]
• 2007: Queen Camilla (daughter-in-law of Elizabeth II)^[13]
• 2017: The Princess of Wales (granddaughter-in-law of Elizabeth II)^{[14] [15]}

Gallery

See also

• Royal family order
• Royal Family Orders of the United Kingdom
• Royal Family Order of George IV
• Royal Order of Victoria and Albert
• Royal Family Order of Edward VII
• Royal Family Order of George V
• Royal Family Order of George VI
• Royal Family Order of Charles III

Notes and References

1. Web site: Royal Family Orders. 13 April 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20130307173343/https://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchUK/Honours/RoyalFamilyOrders.aspx. 7 March 2013. Royal Household. Official website of the British monarchy.
2. Book: Risk . James . Pownall . Henry . Stanley . David . Tamplin . John . Royal Service (Volume II) . 2001 . Third Millennium . Lingfield, Surrey . 34–42.
3. Book: Risk . James . Pownall . Henry . Stanley . David . Tamplin . John . Royal Service (Volume II) . 2001 . Third Millennium . Lingfield, Surrey . Photograph on p. 35.
4. Book: Shawcroft . William . Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother: The Official Biography . 2009 . Macmillan . 978-1-4050-4859-0.
5. Book: Vickers. Hugo. Royal Orders. 1994. Boxtree. 9781852835101. 147.
6. Book: Vickers. Hugo. Royal Orders. 1994. Boxtree. 9781852835101. 147. The Queen gave her Royal Family Order to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, the late Queen Mary, Princess Margaret, the late Princess Royal....
7. Web site: Mailbox. Royal Insight. April 2006. 3. https://web.archive.org/web/20070806122649/http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page5143.asp. 6 August 2007.
8. Book: World Orders of Knighthood and Merit: Volume 1. 2006. Burke's Peerage & Gentry. 832.
9. Book: 97. Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage 2008. 9781870520805. 2008. Debrett's.
10. Book: Vickers. Hugo. Royal Orders. 1994. Boxtree. 9781852835101. 34.
11. Web site: The Duchess of Gloucester: Honours . Royal Household . 1 January 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090525162142/http://www.royal.gov.uk/ThecurrentRoyalFamily/TheDuchessofGloucester/Honours.aspx . 25 May 2009.
12. Web site: Honours and appointments: The Countess of Wessex . Royal Household . 1 January 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140102194633/http://www.royal.gov.uk/ThecurrentRoyalFamily/TheCountessofWessex/Honoursandappointments.aspx . 2 January 2014 .
13. Web site: HRH The Duchess of Cornwall . The Prince of Wales website . 2018-11-10 . https://archive.today/20181110163638/https://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/biographies/hrh-duchess-cornwall . 10 November 2018 . 10 November 2018 . live .
14. Web site: Kate Middleton Debuted a New Royal Honor with Her Tiara on Tuesday Ni… . 2018-11-10 . https://archive.today/20181110155019/https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/10/kate-middleton-royal-family-order . 10 November 2018 . 10 November 2018 . live .
15. News: Gonzales . Erica . What is the Royal Family Order? Duchess of Cambridge receives an extremely important honor from the Queen . 10 November 2018 . Harper's Bazaar . Hearst Communications . 24 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181024211033/https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a24125335/kate-middleton-royal-order-queen-elizabeth/ . 24 October 2018 .