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:
“Are you there, Africa with the bulging chest and oblong thigh? Sulking Africa, wrought of iron, in the fire, Africa of the millions of royal slaves, deported Africa, drifting continent, are you there? Slowly you vanish, you withdraw into the past, into the tales of castaways, colonial museums, the works of scholars.”
—Jean Genet (1910–1986)
“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)
“People are not the way they are primarily in order to annoy me.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)