History
King George V founded the order to fill gaps in the British honours system:
- the Most Honourable Order of the Bath honoured only senior military officers and civil servants;
- the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George honoured diplomats; and
- the Royal Victorian Order honoured those who had personally served the Royal Family.
In particular, King George V wished to honour the many thousands of people who had served in numerous non-combatant capacities during the First World War. Originally, the Order included only one division; however, in 1918, soon after its foundation, it was formally divided into Military and Civil Divisions.
Several previous foreign statesmen and diplomats who have performed service for, or on behalf of, the United Kingdom have been given the designations of Knight Commander or Knights Grand Cross of the Order. However, since membership requires swearing allegiance to a foreign Head of State (currently Queen Elizabeth II), these titles are officially considered "honorary", and the person is not entitled to be referred to as Sir or Dame. Occasionally the media incorrectly refer to foreign recipients with the prefix title, an example being Bob Geldof Hon. KBE, a Republic of Ireland citizen.
Read more about this topic: Officers Of The Order Of The British Empire
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“... in America ... children are instructed in the virtues of the system they live under, as though history had achieved a happy ending in American civics.”
—Mary McCarthy (1912–1989)
“It may be well to remember that the highest level of moral aspiration recorded in history was reached by a few ancient Jews—Micah, Isaiah, and the rest—who took no count whatever of what might not happen to them after death. It is not obvious to me why the same point should not by and by be reached by the Gentiles.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)
“All objects, all phases of culture are alive. They have voices. They speak of their history and interrelatedness. And they are all talking at once!”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)