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Queen Elizabeth IIState & Ceremonial

New companions for Order of the Garter announced

<![CDATA[The Order of the Garter is the oldest and most important British order of chivalry. It was founded by Edward III in 1348. Each knight has on display a banner of their arms in St George’s Chapel, Windsor.
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh
Buckingham Palace has announced that the former heads of the Bank of England and MI5 have been appointed to the Order of the Garter by The Queen.
Mervyn King was made Knight Companion and Eliza Manningham-Buller was appointed Lady Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
The Lord King and Baroness Manningham-Buller fill two of the three vacancies that were open due to the deaths of Baroness Thatcher, Lord Kingsdown and Viscount Ridley. The number of Companions no stands at 23 out of the 24 allowed.
Those chosen for the honour have held public office, contributed to national life or served the sovereign personally.
Lord King of Lothbury was governor of the Bank of England from 2003 until 2013. He began his career at the Bank in 1991 Bank as chief economist and executive director. He was chosen a life peer by the Queen for “contributions to public service” and in 2013 entered the House of Lords as a crossbencher.
From 2002 until she retired in 2007, Baroness Manningham-Buller was director general of the Security She began working at MI5 in 1974. In April 2008, Baroness Manningham-Buller became a crossbench life peer.
Prince WilliamNew appointments to the Order of the Garter are named on St George’s Day, 23 April. The ceremony takes place on Garter Day which is the Monday of Royal Ascot week in June.
The Queen officially invests new Companions with the insignia of the Order of the Garter in the Garter Throne Room at Windsor Castle.
The Queen as Monarch is sovereign of the Order makes the appointments without consultation to her ministers.
Other members of the Order include Winston Churchill’s youngest daughter, The Lady Soames, former Prime Minister Sir John Major and The Duke of Cambridge, who became the 1,000th Knight of the Garter in 2008.
photo credit: hmcotterill and IanVisits via photopin cc]]>