Royals in Medals: Prince Philip's New Order

Prince Phillip's insignia

It's been quite a while since I made a Royals in Medals post and I recently received a slight rebuke for not mentioning the controversy over the Duke of Edinburgh's appointment as a Knight of the Order of Australia.

The controversy is down to three points.

First, there is the political dispute over the grade of Knight/Dame itself.  When the Order was created in February 1975 (under a Labor government), the Order consisted of three grades: Companion, Officer and Member.  Just under a year later (under a Liberal government) the grade of Knight/Dame and the Medal of the Order were created, only for it to be abolished in March 1986 (under a Labor government).  In 2014 the Liberal Prime Minister Tony Abbott recommended to the Queen that the grade be re-established, and Letters Patent were issued to that effect.  As one can quickly guess from these to-ings and fro-ings, the whole matter is tied up in party politics: the Labor Party has said it will again abolish the grade when it is next elected.

Secondly, there is the matter of the announcement of Prince Phillip's appointment.  The announcement itself was made on Australia Day, 26 January,  2015: this was the first that senior government ministers had heard of the matter and they felt aggrieved to be included in the backlash (and ridicule) which followed Mr Abbott's unilateral action.  The upshot is that A.bbott was forced to relinquish the Prime Minister's power of patronage in the Order - which is now held by an independent body.

The third point is a more fundamental one.  The criteria for appointment to the Knight grade of the Order is 'extraordinary and pre-eminent achievement and merit of the highest degree in service to Australia or to humanity at large'.  Does the Prince meet that criteria for his long service as consort to the Queen of Australia?

All questions aside, the Queen presented the Duke with the insignia of the knighthood on 22 April.

...having first checked it was genuine.

Prince Phillip and the Order of New Zealand

The Queen presents the Duke of Edinburgh with New Zealand's  highest
honour, the Order of New Zealand in the presence of Sir Lockwood Smith,
High Commissioner for New Zealand, at Buckingham Palace

In case anyone needed to know why I haven't done a Royals in Medals post for the Duke of Edinburgh, here's an answer - his already complex rack just keeps on growing!

Only five weeks on from receiving Canadian honours, Prince Phillip was today invested with the insignia of the Order of New Zealand by the Queen, as sovereign of the order.  To be fair though, this award (as an additional member) was one of four made in the Jubilee Honours List last year.

Sadly, the official photos didn't include one of the insignia.  Let me meet that need...

The Order of New Zealand was established on Waitangi Day 1987 "to recognise outstanding service to the Crown and people of New Zealand in a civil or military capacity,” and was based on the Order of Merit. 

The insignia (manufactured by Spink & Son) is the same for all grades of membership: an oval medallion in gold and coloured enamels, bearing in the centre the design of the shield of the New Zealand Coat of Arms within a Kowhaiwhai rafter pattern. It was were designed by Phillip O’Shea, New Zealand Herald of Arms Extraordinary to The Queen, who has done several nice pieces of work for the New Zealand honours system.

A man's badge is worn from a neck ribbon.  A woman's badge is worn on a ribbon bow on her left shoulder.  The ribbon is red ochre (kôkôwai) with a narrow white stripe towards either edge.  Kôkôwai has also been used in the ribbons of  NZ Order of Merit and The Queen’s Service Order and Medal. This colour has a spiritual significance for Maori. The badge must be returned to the Crown on the death of the holder or on the holder ceasing to be a member of the Order; it is then passed to another appointee to the order. 

Ordinary membership of the order is limited to 20 members.  Additional members can be appointed on special occasions (this happened in 1990 for the 150th anniversary of the Treaty of Waitangi, in 2002 for the Golden Jubilee, in 2007 for the 20th anniversary of the institution of the order and last year for the Diamond Jubilee). Honorary membership includes citizens of nations of which the Queen is not Head of State.




After this investiture and a garden party, the Duke has been admitted to hospital for 'an exploratory operation following abdominal investigations'. He is expected to stay in hospital for up to two weeks.  Naturally, at his age, any admission to hospital (let alone an operation) is a cause for concern.

Prince Philip's New Canadian Honours

Prince Philip accepts the insignia of the Order of Canada from David
Johnston, the Governor-General

During a short visit to Canada the Duke of Edinburgh has been awarded two new decorations by the Governor General.

He has been made an Extraordinary Companion of the Order of Canada and a Commander of the Order of Military Merit.

The Order of Canada was established in 1967 to mark the centenary of Canadian Confederation.  There are three grades - Companion, Officer and Member.

Prince Philip was offered appointment to the order as an Honorary Companion (ie, the grade given to non-Canadians) in 1982, but he refused on the grounds that, as the consort of the Queen, he was a Canadian and thus entitled to a substantive appointment (as is the case with his Australian honours).  In 1993,  an amendment to the constitution of the Order was proposed, making the sovereign's spouse automatically a Companion, but Prince Philip again refused, stating that if he was to be appointed, it should be on his merits.  The grade of Extraordinary Companion is a new one, apparently created along the lines of the 1993 proposal.

The Companion's insignia is a neck-badge in the form of a stylized snowflake of six points, with a red annulus at its centre which bears a stylized maple leaf circumscribed with the motto of the Order, DESIDERANTES MELIOREM PATRIAM (They desire a better country), surmounted by St Edward’s Crown.

The Order of Military Merit is, as its name suggests, a military honour. It is open to all members of the Canadian Forces, whether regular or reserves, who have displaced extraordinary devotion or merit.  It was established in 1972 and has three grades - Commander, Officer and Member.

The Commanders' insignia is a neck-badge, a blue-enamelled, straight-end cross (four arms, narrow at the centre, wider at the ends) with an annulus in red surmounted by St Edward’s Crown. The annulus bears the inscription MERIT.MÉRITE.CANADA. 









EDIT

And here's the OC in wear...

The Queen's New Order

The Queen wearing the insignia of the Order of Mubarak, the Amir the insignia of the Order of the Bath and the Duke wearing the insignia of the Order of Kuwait

Insignia of a Civil GCB

Royal visits are occasions for gifts.  Sometimes these are lavish, sometimes less so (it is the custom of the Queen to give visitors cut glass and signed photos).  In the case of a state visit by a ruling monarch, they can be of great symbolic value. Last week's state visit by the Amir of Kuwait to Britain was the occasion for the exchange of orders of chivalry.

The Amir was created an Honourary Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (GCB) - the highest grade available and 'honourary' because the Amir is not a subject of the Crown.  This is the customary award given to foreign heads of state.

The Queen was was given an equivalent award - the Wisam al-Mubarak al-Kabir (the Order of Mubarak the Great).  This order was founded by Amir Sabah III in 1974 and the First Class (the Collar) is awarded to heads of state only.  Mubarak the Great was Sheik of Kuwait from 1896 to 1915, and succeeded in winning a level of independence for the sheikdom from the Ottoman Empire in 1897.

Insignia of the Qiladat al-Mubarak al-Kabir - Collar of Mubarak the Great

As can be seen from the official photographs taken during the state dinner held last week, the Duke of Edinburgh is a member of the Order of Kuwait (Wisam al-Kuwait).  Like the Order of Mubarak, this was established in 1974.  It is unclear whether the duke was made a member of the order during the visit, or whether he was already a member.  Both orders were redesigned after the liberation of Kuwait in 1991 (existing stocks of the orders had been destroyed by the Iraqis), and I am uncertain whether the duke is wearing insignia of the first type or the second.

Insignia of the Order of Kuwait (first type)