Diana's Royal Orders


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Sarah did not even receive the Family Order, which both Sophie and Camilla have (along with Gloucester and Kent wives.)
It is true that the Duchess of Cornwall, the Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal, the Duchess of Gloucester, the Duchess of Kent, and Princess Alexandra of Kent, as well as the late Diana, Princess of Wales received the order during her marriage, while Sarah, Duchess of York, never did. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge hasn't got one so far either. However, giving family orders is entirely upon the discretion of the Monarch; even being a British Princess by blood doesn't guarantee receipt as neither Princess Beatrice, nor Prince Eugenie have one.

I did not know Andrew had received a foreign order, I am surprised considering he doesn't attend many of the European Royal gatherings for weddings and such. If anything, Edward should at least receive a foreign order, but he wont ever receive due to his line in succession. Even Anne is a godparent to a Crown Prince yet she has received nothing. (That I am aware of.)
Apart from the Order of St. Olav (which Andrew received back in 1988), the Duke of York also holds the Order of the Federation from the UAE (since 2010).
Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex has no foreign orders as of now, however his namesake, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent holds quite a few orders, namely:
- The Order of St. Olav from Norway (since 1988)
- Order of Charles XIII from Sweden (since 2000)
- Order of Saints George and Constantine from Greece
- Order of the Renaissance from Jordan
- Order of Tri Shakti Patta from Nepal
- Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
- Order of the Star of Africa from Liberia

Princess Anne holds several foreign orders, including the following ones from current Monarchies:
- Order of the House of Orange from the Netherlands (since 1972)
- Order of the Oak Crown from Luxembourg (since 1972)
- Order of the Precious Crown from Japan (since 1971)
 
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I thought i'd read somewhere that fergie recieved that order but i wasn't sure. The british royals do seem somewhat isolated from other royal families but Edward seems a have amassed a nice collection. Thanks for clearing this up guys :) much appreciated.
 
It is true that the Duchess of Cornwall, the Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal, the Duchess of Gloucester, the Duchess of Kent, and Princess Alexandra of Kent, as well as the late Diana, Princess of Wales received the order during her marriage, while Sarah, Duchess of York, never did. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge hasn't got one so far either. However, giving family orders is entirely upon the discretion of the Monarch; even being a British Princess by blood doesn't guarantee receipt as neither Princess Beatrice, nor Prince Eugenie have one.



Apart from the Order of St. Olav (which Andrew received back in 1988), the Duke of York also holds the Order of the Federation from the UAE (since 2010).
Prince Edward actually holds quite a few orders, namely:
- The Order of St. Olav from Norway (since 1988)
- Order of Charles XIII from Sweden (since 2000)
- Order of Saints George and Constantine from Greece
- Order of the Renaissance from Jordan
- Order of Tri Shakti Patta from Nepal
- Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
- Order of the Star of Africa from Liberia

I believe Eugenie and Beatrice have not received the family order as they have not currently carried out any duties on behalf of the Monarch, as yet.

I also did not realise Edward had that many orders, I did not know about the Swedish Order. Is it an order normally worn by the Swedes? If so, would Edward have been allowed to wear it at the Swedish wedding in 2010, or is it not associated with times like that?

I always think the images of Diana in her Orders were beautiful, she really had the look of a Princess, name or not.
 
I believe Eugenie and Beatrice have not received the family order as they have not currently carried out any duties on behalf of the Monarch, as yet.
I also did not realise Edward had that many orders, I did not know about the Swedish Order. Is it an order normally worn by the Swedes? If so, would Edward have been allowed to wear it at the Swedish wedding in 2010, or is it not associated with times like that?

I always think the images of Diana in her Orders were beautiful, she really had the look of a Princess, name or not.

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are highly unlikely to ever become full-time working royals. Whether they receive a Family Order or not will be upon the discretion of the Monarch of the time.

I apologise for the confusion - by Prince Edward I meant the Duke of Kent, not the Earl of Wessex: I have now edited my original post to make that clear.

Diana always did look beautiful wearing her Orders; a true Princess.
 
why sarah, duchess of york never have the RFO? sure in the future zara and catherine will have one but why sarah not?
after all, she is the mother of two princesses
 
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Perhaps The Queen just had better instincts about Sarah than her son or the public and knew she wouldn't be around for the duration.
 
why sarah, duchess of york never have the RFO? sure in the future zara and catherine will have one but why sarah not?

I highly doubt Zara will ever have the Royal Family Order. Kate definitely will, probably quite soon.
I daresay if Sarah and Andrew were married for a little longer and there weren't certain unfortunate incidents connected with Sarah's name, she would eventually get the Family Order. As it were, Her Majesty turned out to be a better judge of character than most of us.
Being mother of Princesses by blood doesn't guarantee a Family order, or any order for that matter.
 
diana have the orden of the royal family, right???
catherine not yet¿

diana never have the orden of the family, right? is unfair
 
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Diana did receive The Queen's personal order but never received any other from her such as the RVO which Camilla now has. I would suggest that is because The Queen was fully aware that to all intents and purposes Diana and Charles had separated by the 7 year mark - which is when she gave the award to Camilla.

The order Diana was awarded in Britain was the one of the Queen's picture on the yellow ribbon - not the one with the blue sash - that is the Royal Victorian Order. Camilla has both of these honours while Diana only ever had the first one.
 
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I do think it was very unfair that Diana worked very hard as The Princess of Wales for sixteen years and only had one Royal Order from The Queen. She received the Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II in 1982.

The Duchess of Cambridge hasn't attended an event where the Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II would be worn, so we don't know if she have the Order yet. Since there's no announcement that she has received the Order, we just have to wait and see her turn up at an event with it on. I'm thinking she may have it though.
 
I do think it was very unfair that Diana worked very hard as The Princess of Wales for sixteen years and only had one Royal Order from The Queen. She received the Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II in 1982.

While Diana was The Princess of Wales for 16 years, I don't think she was necessarily a part of the family for a good portion of that.

She was married in 1981, and by 1985 the two were having serious problems. In 1992 Diana's authorizes biography was published. That's at most 11 years of being a member of the family before she essentially separated herself from them, even if a divorce wasn't yet imminent. At the end of the year, the two were advised to separate, if not outright divorce.

Charles has also said that by 1986 he considered his marriage to be irrevocably broken down. As such, it seems like there was no reason to bestow honours on Diana. The Queen's waited a bit with each of her other daughters-in-law, and so it stands to reason that she waited with Diana then decided not to once it was clear that Diana wasn't really a part of the family.
 
Well, I can't see that as a good excuse. Diana worked very hard as HRH The Princess of Wales for sixteen years. She represented Her Majesty The Queen, the Untied Kingdom and Commonwealth countless times and devoted herself to her charity work. She put up with a lot in her marriage but she at least tried to carry on her duty with grace and dignity. I think after all those years of hard work as a senior member of the royal family and future Queen, Diana should've been made Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order or something. Her Royal Order was well deserved, IMO.
 
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^^^^
Well obviously HM disagreed with your views on Dianas contributions or she would have awarded her the GCVO.
 
Yeah I know. I just think Diana had deserved to be recognized for her major contribution to the work of Monarchy through the early 80's and the 90's. She really did work hard and was a pretty good Princess of Wales. I think despite everything, she should've got her pat on the back just like Camilla and Sophie. IMO, The Queen missed the opportunity to really give Diana the recognition she deserved.

I don't know, I still feel like Diana had got some unfair treatment, IMO.
I think Diana deserved some proper honors from The Queen and just never got it.
 
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I do think it was very unfair that Diana worked very hard as The Princess of Wales for sixteen years and only had one Royal Order from The Queen
The GCVO is given for highest personal service to the monarch, rather than highest personal disservice.. And the perception of working "very hard" (compared to other royals) is a completely subjective
.
 
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I do think it was very unfair that Diana worked very hard as The Princess of Wales for sixteen years and only had one Royal Order from The Queen

It's always the same debate : the public figure of Diana vs the Private one. The GCVO acknowledges the position of the individual inside the royal family. If indeed the late Princess of Wales had some great and real qualities during her public engagements, we can suspect that it was not necessarily the same inside her own family. We can argue that her somewhat oversensitive personnality was maybe not quite to HM's taste (the moto "never explain never complain" was never Diana's favourite).Sophie and Camilla down to earth style and discreet approach of the royal life is maybe the key of HM's favour.

We can ad that two others extrovert, much-publicized and sometimes controversial figures of the RF received nothing from HM : Sarah Duchess of York and Princess Michael of Kent.
 
If Diana had lived who know she may have got one. But at her death she hadn't really been part of the Royal Family for 6 or 7 Years And also her and Charles had been separated for four years and eventual divorce. As someone said adobe The Queen is strict on RFO.
 
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Well, The Queen has taken a new approach toward the treatment of her current daughters-in-law so her now handing out these Orders can't be a total surprise.

Just to point out, Diana did receive the Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of the Netherlands by Queen Beatrix. Also she had The Supreme Class of the Order of the Virtues (Order of Al-Kamal).

I just hope Catherine won't have to wait 10 to 15 years for her honours.
 
Also she had The Supreme Class of the Order of the Virtues (Order of Al-Kamal).
you have some picture os fiana with that orden?? I dont remenber see one. thanks
 
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I think Diana got hers in 82 or 83 (just going by the early pictures).
 
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Posts with no relevance to the topic of Diana's Royal Orders have been removed.
 
The first time she was seen wearing the order was during the State Visit by Queen Beatrix after William's birth in 1982.

I think Diana got hers in 82 or 83 (just going by the early pictures).
 
She also basically went to war with "The Firm" while simultaneously trashing her children's father as publicly as possible, including basically telling the world that he doesn't have what it takes to be King. By suggesting that the heir to the throne is incapable, Diana essentially undermined totally the very premise of monarchy and made HM's job far more difficult than it would have been otherwise. I'm not surprised she didn't give her any other honours.

The late Princess didn't go to war with the "Firm", but her and Charles went through a painful separation and later divorce. It was a terrible time for them both.

Despite all of that, Diana, worked very hard as HRH The Princess of Wales and future Queen from 81-96, and I just don't think her work went appreciated by The Queen. The Queen has shown more appreciation from her new daughter-in-laws much early on, than she did with Diana.

Senior members of the royal family work very hard on behalf of the "Firm." They do this because it's the life they either born or married into. Duty and service to the Monarch and country is what they're all about. They support countless charitable causes that mean the world do them and they try to help others in anyway they can. They don't do it for the honors and praise, but her family truly feel appreciated when The Queen award them for their years of service and duty.

Then again, I guess Diana really didn't need any honors and appreciation from, The Queen. I think Diana got that from the people. She loved reaching out to them and they reached out right back to her. When she passed, they came out in great numbers, from all over the country and world, and paid their last respects to an incredible person in the most incredible way.
 
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In the thread about the RFO I tried to explain why Diana received only one foreign royal Order. I explained it with the policy of reciprocity during State Visits. The foreign female spouse gets no Order? Then the female spouse of "the other side" gets no Order either. That is what is called reciprocity. During Diana's period as HRH The Princess of Wales, the following European monarchs made a State Visit to the United Kingdom:

- HM The Queen of the Netherlands 1982:
Charles was made Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Orange-Nassau. Prince Claus of the Netherlands received the Royal Victorian Order. The Princess of Wales was made Lady Grand Cross in the Crown Order (House of Orange Order). This event was the first outing of the Royal Family's Order as well. See picture.

- HE The President of France, co-Sovereign of Andorrra 1984:
The Prince of Wales was given the Grand Cross in the Légion d'Honneur. As there was no British decoration for Madame Mitterrand, so there was no French decoration for the Princess of Wales.

- HM The King of Spain 1986:
The Prince of Wales was given the Grand Cross in Most Dinstinghuised Order of Carlos III. As there was no British decoration for Queen Sofía (!), so there was no Spanish decoration for the Princess of Wales.

- HM The King of Norway 1994:
Charles already held the Grand Cross with Collar of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav. As there was no British decoration for Queen Sonja (!), so there was no Norwegian decoration for the Princess of Wales.

The British policy of not giving Orders to female spouses is the answer why Diana has no other royal Orders. An example why other royal ladies have received Orders is shown in this picture. Queen Beatrix, The Prince of Orange, Princess Máxima and Prince Constantijn were guests of King Albert II. The King of the Belgians gave the Grand Cordon in the Order of the Crown to Princess Máxima and Prince Constantijn. Queen Beatrix on her turn gave an Order to the Duchess of Brabant and Princess Claire. (the Duke of Brabant and Prince Laurent already had a Dutch Order). See picture.

Because Queen Elizabeth II does not confer decorations on female spouses of heads of state, in return the foreign heads of state also do not this to British royal ladies. In fact this is pure gender discrimination because male spouses to heads of state get a British Order.... proof: http://fast.mediamatic.nl/f/tqgr/image/954/2114382-800-543.jpg
 
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:previous: I can understand all of that, I just think The Queen, as the 'Fountain of Honour' could have given the Princess of Wales a Knighthood. She could have been invested as a Knight of the Thistle, The Royal Victorian Order, or even the Order of St. John Jerusalem. After fifteen years of royal duty and service, the late Princess received nothing, but the Royal Family Order from the Queen. No sign of recognition and appreciation.
 
:previous: I can understand all of that, I just think The Queen, as the 'Fountain of Honour' could have given the Princess of Wales a Knighthood. She could have been invested as a Knight of the Thistle, The Royal Victorian Order, or even the Order of St. John Jerusalem. After fifteen years of royal duty and service, the late Princess received nothing, but the Royal Family Order from the Queen. No sign of recognition and appreciation.

I think that's a sign that the relationship between the Queen and Diana was strained for quite a few years before the separation in 1992. And after the very public breakdown of the marriage and all the media fuss in following years, you can't expect the Queen to bestow an order on her former daughter-in-law, who really damaged the monarchy during the last years of her life.
 
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