New British Military Medal Named for Queen Elizabeth

For the first time since the George Cross in 1940, a new medal of honor for fallen British military men and women will be named for a reigning monarch. The Elizabeth Cross, named for HM The Queen, will be awarded to the families of British military men and women killed in active duty from World War II to the present. Those killed in terrorist attacks will also be eligible for the medal.

Military personnel killed in action in Northern Ireland, the Falklands, Afghanistan, and Iraq will be among those eligible to receive the Elizabeth Cross. The Associated Press reports, however, that the next-of-kin of those killed before the new millenium will have to apply for the honor, while families of those killed within the decade will be notified by the Ministry of Defence that their loved ones will receive the Cross.

The silver cross is decorated with the initials “EIIR,” for Queen Elizabeth II, and with a rose, a daffodil, a thistle, and a shamrock, the national flowers representing England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

The news of the new military medal comes on the day that Lt. Col. Rupert Thorneloe, the highest-ranking member of the British military to be killed in action since the Falklands War, died after the vehicle in which he was traveling was exploded by a bomb in Afghanistan.

For more on The Queen’s current events, please visit this thread.

Filed under The United Kingdom
Tagged Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Military.

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