Order of the Garter, Ceremonies and Information 1: 2003 - 2021


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Thank you for all the links to images. Everyone looked great, loved the images of the 3 "Windsor Wives", very amusing. Would have loved to know what they were discussing, it obviously shocked Catherine and Sophie. Lovely attire today too, love their nude shoes and the pale colours. I love Catherine's dress and Sophie's ensemble. I LOVED her hat too, which I did not think I would. Camilla looked great too.

Side note, how cute is the Queen in glasses? Sqee.
 
Side note, how cute is the Queen in glasses?.[/QUOTE]
very i just want 2 squeeze her lol she is very adorable :p
 
A lot of people on websites (particularly the newspaper websites) comment on Sophie standing next to Catherine to get her picture taken. Where else was she meant to stand?... Camilla is her sister-in-law, they are allowed to converse at family gatherings. Next they will say she pushed Louise next to her on the balcony on Saturday.
 
Rocketmom said:
Why has Harry not yet been named a knight of the garter? Surely his service in Afganistan would qualify, in addition to his own charities. I also wonder why he doesn't ride in the trooping the color?
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Well if Andrew's service in the Falklands and 20 years of military service and ongoing service to the monarch took him until his 40s to get the Garter I think Harry, as also the younger son, will have to wait as long.

The Queen expects service for decades before honouring younger children and only gives the awards to Charles (automatically with regard to The Garter when she created him Prince of Wales) and William to be the 1000th knight because they are future Kings.

Harry only did a short tour of Afghanistan - not a full tour - while Andrew did do the full tour of the Falklands and had there been other conflicts while he was in the service, where his ship at the time was posted no doubt he would have seen further wartime service.

Harry, like Andrew, doesn't ride in the Trooping the Coloiur because he doesn't have high enough rank in a relevant regiment. Harry is only a Captain and it is the regimental colonels of the Household Division who ride. Andrew, although a regimental colonel isn't a colonel of a regiment of the Household Division. As Harry actually serves in one of these regiments he can't be given honourary rank in that same division and he also doesn't participate because he isn't in a ceremonial part of the Blues and Royals - if he transferred to the ceremonial then he would be able to take part as a junior officer.
 
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Duchess of Durham said:
How long a walk is that HM and the DOE have to take before the service? If it is a long walk, could they have ridden in carriage instead of walk?

Is it hot there today?
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They always walk down the hill to St George's Chapel and ride back up the hill in carriages. I don't think it is an awfully long walk as the Chapel is located not too far from the Castle, but it must seem a lot longer going at that slow pace in those robes in the heat. I think it is usually quite warm on Garter Day - it's one event I've never heard of being rained out.

I love the pictures of Camilla, Kate and Sophie all talking together; in my opinion it would have been perfect if the Duchess of Gloucester (who can be seen lurking in the background in one or two of them) was included as well (big Duchess of Gloucester fan right here). I also love Prince William's facial expressions every year during the procession, I can't help but think he finds the whole Garter garb utterly ridiculous :ROFLMAO:

Does anyone know if the Knights and Ladies always walk in the same place in the procession and how their position is determined? For example, I noticed John Major was at the front with a lady I didn't recognise but he is not the most recent or the longest-serving (for lack of a better expression) Knight?
 
They all looked great, except Philip. He looked ancient, and, my mother who will be 98, looks 10 years younger than he. He looks worn out.
 
Artemisia said:
There may be various reasons.
- His service in Afghanistan and charities, while highly commendable, doesn't automatically earn him the right to be invested as Knight of the Garter.
- Harry is still too young. While Prince Charles and Prince William both got the honour when they were of similar age, they are future Kings; Harry is not.
- The Queen may deliberately not want to invest Prince Harry, so that when time comes, King Charles has the chance to bestow the honour on at least one of his sons.
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andrew and edward don't are future kings. may be soon harry got the honour soon. May be when he married.
 
COUNTESS said:
They all looked great, except Philip. He looked ancient, and, my mother who will be 98, looks 10 years younger than he. He looks worn out.
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Really? Personally, I think that's a bit harsh. I mean he's 91 for god's sake and considering he just suffered a bladder infection he looks pretty good to me. I know it seems like a small thing but at this age any little thing is a big thing for them and their bodies. I'd say he looks tired but not ancient!

On a positive note I LOVED the Queen's earrings omg my mom and grandma we're freaking over how good the Queen looked in them.
 
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I see phillip a bit tried
 
^I agree a little bit tired is natural but not ancient looking personally I think that's taking it too far.
 
Osipi said:
I'd like to be the fly on the wall when Camilla and Philip get together. Can you imagine those two working in tandem? :ROFLMAO:
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Oh, to see those two working in tandem would be a treat of a lifetime :D :ROFLMAO:. I wonder who would bounce off of whom with those two...

Molly2101 said:
Thank you for all the links to images. Everyone looked great, loved the images of the 3 "Windsor Wives", very amusing. Would have loved to know what they were discussing, it obviously shocked Catherine and Sophie. Lovely attire today too, love their nude shoes and the pale colours. I love Catherine's dress and Sophie's ensemble. I LOVED her hat too, which I did not think I would. Camilla looked great too.

Side note, how cute is the Queen in glasses? Sqee.
Click to expand...

I loved the picture of Catherine and Sophie laughing at whatever it was Camila was saying (and using her hands for emphasis :lol:). Those three appear to be very cozy in each other's company which is great. Makes certain ceremonies less tedious and uncomfortable. Yes, everyone looked great, and I love Her Majesty in glasses. Makes her look very distinguished.

Molly2101 said:
A lot of people on websites (particularly the newspaper websites) comment on Sophie standing next to Catherine to get her picture taken. Where else was she meant to stand?... Camilla is her sister-in-law, they are allowed to converse at family gatherings. Next they will say she pushed Louise next to her on the balcony on Saturday.
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Hey, if Sophie wanted to be in pictures, she would stand right next to the Queen :D, but I don't think Sophie is a type of person who wants to be in the limelight when it's not her time to do so. She gets good press coverage when she does her own engagements, and I think she's all right with that. As we know, people will say/see what they want, and use it to either praise or slander a person. Yes, I'm sure Sophie is such a devious person that she wanted to push her daughter all the way to the front, right next to Catherine so that her face would be splattered all over the press. I think that would happen when :pigsfly: :ermm:.
 
Molly2101 said:
A lot of people on websites (particularly the newspaper websites) comment on Sophie standing next to Catherine to get her picture taken. Where else was she meant to stand?... Camilla is her sister-in-law, they are allowed to converse at family gatherings. Next they will say she pushed Louise next to her on the balcony on Saturday.
Click to expand...
Well, they were the three highest ranking people NOT in the procession. Of course they stood in front.:)
 
RoyalistRiley said:
Does anyone know if the Knights and Ladies always walk in the same place in the procession and how their position is determined? For example, I noticed John Major was at the front with a lady I didn't recognise but he is not the most recent or the longest-serving (for lack of a better expression) Knight?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure how the procession is organized, but I saw some photos with John Major and Mary Soames, Baroness Soames in the lead. He is a former prime minister, and she is the last surviving child of Winston Churchill.

In hindsight, I realized it was a good sign that Philip walked unaided, even if he looked a little tired. In the pictures I saw of Margaret Thatcher, she had to be held up by people on either side.
 
In the Zimbio link above I saw a picture of what appeared to be the entire royal family on the balcony following th Trooping the Color. I'm unfamiliar with many of the "minor" royals and wonder if somewhere there is a similar picture with identification as to who's who?
 
RoyalistRiley said:
I also love Prince William's facial expressions every year during the procession, I can't help but think he finds the whole Garter garb utterly ridiculous :ROFLMAO:
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Well, that does not bode well for the future, if you are interpreting correctly, as such ceremonial will be his bread-and-butter for most of his life. He has my compassion if he is already jaded - another word comes to mind but I did not see the look you mention and jaded is being kind - if he is already jaded with that which he is destined to participate in year-in-and-year-out. If he truly finds it 'ridiculous' now - what does he have to look forward to over the coming decades of royal service?

Molly2101 said:
A lot of people on websites (particularly the newspaper websites) comment on Sophie standing next to Catherine to get her picture taken. Where else was she meant to stand? Camilla is her sister-in-law, they are allowed to converse at family gatherings. Next they will say she pushed Louise next to her on the balcony on Saturday.
Click to expand...

In the Garter video one can watch Kate actually wait for Sophie on the stairs so that they can walk down the stairs together. It's interesting that so much - I'm struggling to find a word - not power, not influence, perhaps glamour? - is being ascribed to Kate by some people - very telling. Facts seem to be that Kate is doing all she can to be a part of the whole group of royals and they for their part seem to be making every effort to be warmly supportive in public. It seems that the two women who have entered the family 'recently' - Sophie and Camilla - are the very ones who are making sure Kate is covered. Someone like Sophie, too - who was in PR professionally - would understand and have natural abilities around people pleasing. Camilla seems to be a natural at it.


Thena said:
In hindsight, I realized it was a good sign that Philip walked unaided, even if he looked a little tired.
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He was breathing hard as they came around the corner, just before the stairs. The Queen stopped at the stairs. I think he was doing his darndest. Good man. I think July/August and Balmoral won't come soon enough for him. It's watching him at events like these that the idea that such events will 'keep him going' rather than 'wear him out' just doesn't compute for me.
 
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Thanks, R-Riley. That's exactly what I was looking for. I've been to that web site a few times but hadn't gotten to that page yet.
 
I dont understand the predeliction of the ladies of the BRF for attiring themselves in head to toe white. Much as I admire HMQEII, she's a bit long in the tooth to be consistantly wearing (especially in the evening, long) white dresses. It's also very unforgiving for ladies well past their youth (QEII, Camilla). Find a jewel tone. Not only will it be more attractive and forgiving, but it will stand out. When I see the whole group of them dressed this way, I am reminded of the movie The Bachelor, with a horde of brides chasing the prospective groom. The Queen even wears white to occasions where if would be considered extremely rude on anyone else's part...ie mother of the groom at Camilla and Charles wedding.
 
I know it's only 36 hours or so since the death of the great Margaret Thatcher, but her death does mean that the Queen will be able to appoint a new Garter Knight. Anyone any thoughts on who she might give it to? Maybe Tony Blair to balance the Labour/Conservative representation in the Order? Had she not already given former Australian PM John Howard the Order of Merit, I could've seen him being appointed.

To the experts out there, does the Queen appoint new Knights quickly after a position opens up, or does she take her time with it?
 
The Queen doesn't usually create new Knights or Ladies Companion as soon as a vacancy opens. In fact, currently not one but three positions are vacant: after Baroness Thatcher's death, only 21 Knights and Ladies out of possible 24 remain. It may be years until new Knights or Ladies Companion are appointed.

As for who will, eventually, be made Knight or Lady of the Garter, I'd put my money on one or both of the last two labour Prime Ministers - Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Granted, neither are particularly popular right now but it would be a great snub to the Labour party if two of their last prime ministers, including one who won three consecutive terms, weren't given the honour - and the Queen is supposed to be apolitical. Personally, I would expect Tony Blair's appointment within the next two years.
 
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I believe that there are 2 vacancies anyway

Lord Attenborough is a possibility; I'm not sure who could from the world of science; retired Head of Military services; I believe that David Hockney turned it down. Not Tony Blair.
 
One of the things that surprised me doing research search on Princess Margaret was the fact that she was never made a member of the Order of the Garter. I was so shocked. HMQ has (eventually) made all her children members and Princess Alexandra became a member in 2003. I wonder if the death of Margaret gave HMQ a nudge.

I wouls love Sophie to be a member but I think that will be down to Charles. HMQ should make Camilla a member - that is a defining seal of approval.

QUESTION? When will Willem-Alexander get it? I think next year, during a Royal visit.
 
This may be where Cheri's shallow to nonexistant curtsies may come to hurt him. In the end of The Queen, Helen M. tells TB how quickly you can be turned on how unexpecting it when it comes. Any previously know PMs have anti-monarchist spouses?
 
padams2359 said:
This may be where Cheri's shallow to nonexistant curtsies may come to hurt him. In the end of The Queen, Helen M. tells TB how quickly you can be turned on how unexpecting it when it comes. Any previously know Garter Members have anti-monarchist spouses?
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PMs should be Garter Members.
 
padams2359 said:
This may be where Cheri's shallow to nonexistant curtsies may come to hurt him.
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I dont think that will be an issue at all. Atleast from Queen Helen Mirren's "assurance" that she is least bothered about the depth of the curtseys..
 
Yeah, there are at least two vacancies now. Who knows when she will appoint a new Knight. There was a rumor that Harry would be up for a Knighthood.
 
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