HM The Queen with the Duke of Edinburgh in Garter Robes, 1985
The Queen has appointed Prince William as a Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. Prince William becomes the 1000th Knight in the Register. The Queen has also appointed Lord Luce, GCVO, DL and Sir Thomas Dunne, KCVO, to be Garter Knights. Lord Luce was Lord Chamberlain from 2000 to 2006. Sir Thomas Dunne is Lord-Lieutenant of Hereford (since 1977) and Chairman of the Lord Lieutenants Association.
Members of the Royal family are additional to the established number of 24 Companions. The Duke of Edinburgh was created a Knight in 1947 by King George VI, The Prince of Wales in 1958, The Duke of Kent in 1985, The Princess Royal in 1994, The Duke of Gloucester in 1997 and Princess Alexandra in 2003. The Duke of York and The Earl of Wessex were both created Knights in 2006.
The appointment of the Knights and Ladies of the Garter is in The Queen's gift (i.e. without Prime Ministerial advice). Appointments to the Order of the Garter are therefore in the same category as the Order of the Thistle, the Order of Merit and the Royal Victorian Order which are also in The Queen's gift. Today's announcement brings the number of Companion Knights to the maximum number of 24.
The new Knights will be invested in a private ceremony in Windsor Castle and then process to St George's Chapel for the Garter Service on Monday 16th June 2008.
Garter Pictures and History


