The
Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
is one of the British orders of chivalry. It is the newest order, created on 4 June 1917, by
King
George V
.
The order is cut into two parts, civil and military. Both parts have five classes or ranks. In order, from highest to lowest, these are:
- Knight
or
Dame Grand Cross
(GBE)
- Knight
or
Dame Commander
(KBE or DBE)
- Commander
(CBE)
- Officer
(OBE)
- Member
(MBE)
Only the two highest ranks are knighthoods, and allow the holder to call themselves 'Sir' (male) or 'Dame' (female). If the person is not a citizen of a country where the
King
is Head of State, the award is called honorary, and the holder cannot use the title before their name. For example
Terry Wogan
became a British citizen and was therefore called Sir Terry Wogan, but
Bob Geldof
is still an Irish citizen, and is therefore not "Sir Bob". He can, however, style himself "Bob Geldof KBE".
The British Empire Medal (BEM) was restarted in 2012, but only in the
civil
group. Although the BEM it is the newest British order of
chivalry
, it has more members than any other.
King George V
wanted to be able to honour the thousands of people who helped to win the First World War, but were not soldiers.
This Order of Knighthood has a more democratic character than the exclusive
Order of the Bath
or
Saint Michael and Saint George
, and in its early days was not held in high esteem. This changed over the years. In 1965
Harold Wilson
honoured
Violet Carson
and
the Beatles
. He was accused of having debased and cheapened the
honours system
.
[1]
The British
monarch
is Sovereign of the Order and appoints all other members of the Order but only on the advice of the Government. The next-most senior member is the Grand Master. There have been three:
The order's rules, called
statutes
, say that the Order can only have 100 Knights and Dames Grand Cross, 845 Knights and Dames Commander, and 8960 Commanders, but there is no limit to the number of members of the Officers and Members but no more than 858 Officers and 1464 Members may be appointed per year. Appointments are made on the advice of the governments of the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth realms.
Some jobs are usually rewarded with the Order. Usually female judges of the High Court of England and Wales are created Dames Commander after appointment. Male judges are not, because they are usually made
Knights Bachelor
instead.
Officials and Knights and Dames Grand Cross
[
change
|
change source
]
Sovereign:
Charles III
Grand Master:
Queen Camilla
Current Knights and Dames Grand Cross
- Sir
Christopher Leaver
GBE
(1981)
- Sir
Anthony Jolliffe
GBE
(1982)
- Sir
David Harcourt-Smith
GBE
KCB
(1989)
- Sir
Alexander Graham
GBE
(1990)
- Sir
Patrick Hine
GCB
GBE
(1991)
- Sir
Brian Jenkins
GBE
(1991)
- Sir
Bill Wratten
GBE
CB
(1998)
- The Lord Rothschild
OM
GBE
CVO
(1998)
- Sir
Stephen Brown
GBE
(1999)
- Sir
Anthony Bagnall
GBE
KCB
(2002)
- Sir
Michael Sydney Perry
GBE
(2002)
- Sir
Ronnie Flanagan
GBE
(2002)
- The Baroness Butler-Sloss
GBE
PC
(2005)
- Sir
David Cooksey
GBE
(2007)
- Sir
Timothy Granville-Chapman
GBE
KCB
(2011)
- The Lord King of Lothbury
KG
GBE
(2011)
- Sir
John Parker
GBE
(2012)
- The Baroness Hayman
GBE
PC
(2012)
- Sir
Keith Mills
GBE
(2013)
- Sir
John Bell
GBE
FRS
(2015)
- The Lord Peach
GBE
KCB
(2016)
- Sir
Ian Wood
KT
GBE
(2016)
- Sir
Cyril Chantler
GBE
(2017)
- Sir
Keith Peters
GBE
(2018)
- Sir
Craig Reedie
GBE
(2018)
- Sir
Christopher Greenwood
GBE
CMG
KC
(2018)
- The Lady Higgins
GBE
KC
(2019)
- Sir
Michael Burton
GBE
KC
(2019)
- The Earl Howe
GBE
PC
(2021)
- Dame
Sue Ion
GBE
FRS
(2022)
- Sir
Partha Dasgupta
GBE
FRS
(2023)
- Dame
Hermione Lee
GBE
(2023)
- Sir
Bill Beaumont
GBE
(2024)
- Dame
Margaret Beckett
GBE
MP
(2024)
- Dame
Carol Black
GBE
(2024)
- Sir
James McDonald
GBE
(2024)
- Sir
Ridley Scott
GBE
(2024)
Officers
Like the orders of chivalry, this order has six officials:
- Prelate
- The Right Rev. and
Right Hon
.
Dame Sarah Mullally
DBE
, Bishop of London
- Dean
- The Very Rev.
Andrew Tremlett
, Dean of
St Paul's Cathedral
(The Dean of St Paul's always holds this office).
- Secretary
-
Stephen Segrave
- Registrar
- Simon Case
CVO
,
Cabinet Secretary
- King of Arms
-
Sir Robert Fulton
KBE
- Lady Usher of the Purple Rod
-
Dame Amelia Fawcett
DBE
CVO
. Many years ago the ushers helped to organise royal events, now only the usher of the Order of the Garter has any official duties.
Anyone who behaves in a way that might bring the order into disrepute, may have his or her award taken away.
- 1921:
Cecil Malone
was stripped of his OBE (awarded 1919) following his conviction under the Defence of the Realm (Acquisition of Land) Act 1920.
- 1940:
Vidkun Quisling
was stripped of his CBE (awarded 1929) following his work with
Nazi Germany
in the occupation of
Norway
.
- 1949:
Man Wai Wong
was stripped of his OBE (awarded 1947) following his conviction for outlawry in
Malaya
.
- 1965:
Kim Philby
was stripped of his OBE (awarded 1946) following his exposure as a
spy
.
- 1975:
William Spens
was stripped of his MBE (awarded 1954) following his conviction for theft.
- 1980:
Albert Henry
was stripped of his KBE (awarded 1974) following his conviction for
election
fraud
.
- 1988:
Lester Piggott
was stripped of his OBE (awarded 1975) following his conviction for tax fraud.
- 2006:
Michael Eke
was stripped of his MBE (awarded 2003) following his conviction for theft and deception.
- 2006:
Naseem Hamed
was stripped of his MBE (awarded 1999) following his conviction for dangerous driving.
John Lennon
once criticised military membership in the order, saying:
"Lots of people who complained about us receiving the MBE received theirs for heroism in the war - for killing people. We received ours for entertaining other people. I'd say we deserve ours more."
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Current orders
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Dormant orders
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Other honours
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International
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National
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People
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Other
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