Classes and Insignia
Today, the Royal Family Order appears to exist in a single class. Previous Royal Family Orders had three or four classes. (Queen Victoria's Royal Order of Victoria and Albert, for example, had four.)
The badge of the order consists of a portrait of the Sovereign set in diamonds, which is suspended from a ribbon. The ribbon of each Royal Family Order changes with each monarch: Edward VII's was variegated of red, blue, and white (similar to the colors of the Royal Victorian Order), George V's was pale blue, and George VI's was rose pink. Each contained a portrait of the sovereign, usually in uniform (if male), or an evening dress (if female). The reverse of the order contains the royal cypher of the sovereign.
The Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II depicts The Queen in evening dress wearing the ribbon and star of the Order of the Garter. The miniature, painted on ivory, 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.
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“The most powerful lessons about ethics and morality do not come from school discussions or classes in character building. They come from family life where people treat one another with respect, consideration, and love.”
—Neil Kurshan (20th century)