The Royal Victorian Order (French: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of their family, or any of their viceroys. Established in 1896, the order's chapel is the Savoy Chapel, its official day is 20 June, and its motto is Victoria, alluding to the society's founder, Queen Victoria. There are no limits on the number of inductees, and admission remains the personal gift of the monarch, with each of the organisation's five hierarchical grades and one medal with three levels representing different levels of service. While all members receive the ability to use the prescribed styles of the order— the top two levels grant titles of knighthood, and all accord distinct post-nominal letters— the Royal Victorian Order's precedence amongst other honours differs from realm to realm, and admission to some grades may be barred by government policy. Though similarly named, the Royal Victorian Order is not related to the Royal Victorian Chain.
Read more about Royal Victorian Order: Creation, Officers and Grades, Insignia and Vestments, Chapel, Eligibility and Appointment, Precedence in Each Realm
Famous quotes containing the words royal, victorian and/or order:
“When other helpers fail and comforts flee, when the senses decay and the mind moves in a narrower and narrower circle, when the grasshopper is a burden and the postman brings no letters, and even the Royal Family is no longer quite what it was, an obituary column stands fast.”
—Sylvia Townsend Warner (1893–1978)
“Apart from letters, it is the vulgar custom of the moment to deride the thinkers of the Victorian and Edwardian eras; yet there has not been, in all history, another age ... when so much sheer mental energy was directed toward creating a fairer social order.”
—Ellen Glasgow (1873–1945)
“There is a quality even meaner than outright ugliness or disorder, and this meaner quality is the dishonest mask of pretended order, achieved by ignoring or suppressing the real order that is struggling to exist and to be served.”
—Jane Jacobs (b. 1916)