Order of the Garter: Honi soit qui mal y pense.

A half crown - 1921

If you live in London, you've seen it a million times and probably haven't noticed. If you are visiting London on holiday, or just passing through on the top of a bus, you'll see it at least half a dozen times before you reach your destination.

It appears everywhere. On public buildings, military banners, cap badges, buttons, coins - it even appears on the lamp posts running down the Mall and on the gates of a car park in Mayfair.

And according to William Bligh's notebook, one of the mutinous crew of the Bounty, a certain James Morrison, had it, "...Tatowed with a Star under his left Breast & a Garter round his Left Leg..."

It's the royal motto... Honi soit qui mal y pense.

The Royal Coat of Arms

Look closely at the garter which surrounds the shield on the Royal Coat of Arms, pictured right. This garter (you can see the buckle just below the paw of the lion on the left) symbolises an ancient order of knighthood of which the present Queen is sovereign.

The Most Noble Order of the Garter was founded in 1348 by King Edward III as a noble fraternity consisting of the King, the Prince of Wales (or heir-apparent to the throne) and 24 Knights Companion. It is to this day the highest of the English orders, with a membership of under 30 people.

Various legends account for the origin of the Order. The most popular legend involves the Countess of Salisbury. While she was dancing with or near King Edward at Eltham Palace, her garter is said to have slipped from her leg. When the surrounding courtiers sniggered, the king picked it up and tied it to his leg, exclaiming, "Honi soit qui mal y pense," ("Shamed be the person who thinks evil of it."), the phrase that has become the motto of the Order.

According to another legend, King Richard I was inspired in the 12th century by St George the Martyr while fighting in the Crusades to tie garters around the legs of his knights, who subsequently won the battle. King Edward supposedly recalled the event in the 14th century when he founded the Order. Another explanation is that the motto refers to Edward's claim to the French throne, and the Order of the Garter was created to help pursue this claim. The use of the garter as an emblem may have derived from straps used to fasten armour

As the highest and oldest English Order of Chivalry, the Garter is one of the most important of all such Orders throughout the world. Male members of the Order are titled "Knights Companion," and female members are called "Ladies Companion."

Formerly, the Sovereign filled vacancies upon the nomination of the members. Each member would nominate nine candidates, of whom three had to have the rank of Earl or higher, three the rank of Baron or higher, and three the rank of Knight or higher. The Sovereign would choose as many nominees as were necessary to fill any vacancies in the Order.

From the 18th century, the Sovereign made his or her choices on the advice of Government. However, King George VI believed that the Order of the Garter and the Order of the Thistle had become too linked with political patronage. In 1946, with the agreement of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, membership in these two orders became a personal gift of the Sovereign. Thus, the Sovereign personally selects Knights and Ladies Companion of the Garter, and need not act on the advice of Government.

Windsor Castle

The home of the Order is St George's Chapel, Windsor. Every knight is required to display a banner of his arms in the Chapel, together with a helmet and crest, coat of arms, sword and an enamelled stallplate above his pew in the choir.

This achievement is taken down on the knight's death and the insignia returned to the Sovereign. The stallplates remain as a memorial and these now constitute one of the finest collections of heraldry in the world. Every St. George's Day the Monarch and Knights walk in triumphal procession at Windsor Castle to St. George's Chapel, preceded by Her Majesty's heralds.

HRH Queen Elizabeth II

The insignia of the Order have developed over the centuries: starting with a garter and badge depicting St George and the Dragon. A collar was added in the sixteenth century, and the star and broad riband in the seventeenth century. A fine cloak and hat complete the insignia.

The hat is a Tudor bonnet of black velvet with a plume of white ostrich and black heron feathers. Although the collar may not be decorated with precious stones, the other insignia can be decorated according to taste. George IV (formerly the Prince Regent under George III) was well-known for his vanity, and had 55 different Garter badges of varying styles.



One of the most famous displays of insignia was seen at the execution of King Charles I in 1649, when the King, much to the chagrin of his enemies, proudly walked to the gallows wearing his full regalia of the Order of the Garter.

On the death of a member, the badge and star are returned personally to the Sovereign by the former member's nearest male relative, and the other insignia to the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood. The Sovereign may also "degrade" members who have committed serious crimes, such as treason or who have taken up arms against her.

During the First World War, two Royal Knights and six Stranger Knights, all monarchs or princes of enemy nations and including Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany and Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, were struck off the roll of the Order or had their appointments annulled in 1915.

The banner of Emperor Hirohito of Japan was removed from St. George's chapel when Japan entered World War II in 1941, but that banner and the Japanese monarch's knighthood were restored by Elizabeth II in 1971, when the Emperor made a State visit to the United Kingdom. He was particularly pleased by the restoration of his banner as a Knight of the Garter. Curiously, Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, despite Italy's entry into World War II, remained a Stranger Knight throughout the war. His banner was removed only after his death in exile in 1947.

But why was French used for the motto of an English king? Old heraldic mottoes almost always used Latin. The answer is probably quite simple.

If King Edward III wanted to provoke the French before making his cross-channel territorial claims, the natural choice for the motto would, of course, be French.  

So, Honi soit qui mal y pense, it was, and shamed be the person who thinks evil of it.

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