How one tiny detail signals a BIG Royal change
Eagle-eyed watchers noticed alterations to the QEII Royal Family Orders this week. But what does that mean?
On Tuesday, December 5th, 2023, the annual Diplomatic Corps Reception was hosted at Buckingham Palace. This white-tie occasion is the Royal Family’s chance to thank all the ambassadors and high commissioners at the foreign missions in London, as well as past Prime Ministers, certain Archbishops, and other public figures in the UK.
Via the Royal Collection Trust: “Diplomatic Receptions are the largest annual receptions at Buckingham Palace, with a guest list numbering around 1,000.” It’s a huge deal on the Royoal Calendar, but photos from inside the event, until very recently, have been scarce.
The Palace released an official, posed group shot of King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince William, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, ahead of the reception - something that has not been done since 2016.
A stark difference between these two photos (aside from the absence of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip) can be seen in Kate’s respective ensembles. In 2016, she had not yet received the two pieces of Royal regalia that make up her 2023 outfit: the sash of the Royal Victorian Order, and the Queen Elizabeth II Royal Family Order.
Kate first wore the regalia of a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) in 2019, and debuted the Queen Elizabeth II Royal Family Order in 2018.
But eagle-eyed royal watchers spotted a new alteration to Kate’s regalia—that can also be seen on Queen Camilla—marking a very recent change. We last saw the royal women wear their Royal Family Orders at the State Banquet on November 21, and since then, the ribbon backing of these sentimental honors has been shortened.
Many have interpreted this as a signal that a new Royal Family Order will soon join QEII’s. But just what are these tiny portraits, and what protocol goes into wearing them?
Diamond encrusted favors
One commenter on my video from Wednesday called them “Royal Family trading cards”—which is pretty accurate! They’re less a formal symbol than they are a royal “favor” or family gesture, and they are only given to women, who wear them with white-tie attire.
It was King George IV who first established the tradition of Royal Family Orders. Women in the Royal Family had worn miniature portraits of the monarch before this, but George gave us the protocol we know today.
A Royal Family Order consists of a painted portrait of the monarch, surrounded by jewels and topped by a crown, hanging from a ribbon.
The color of the ribbon changes between reigns, with modern ones using light pastel tones.
Monarchs have put a personal touch on their Royal Family Orders over the years, with Queen Victoria opting for a joint portrait with her consort, Prince Albert, to adorn hers. She created the “Royal Order of Victoria and Albert” in 1862 after Albert’s death. Instead of a miniature portrait, the badge of the order featured a cameo silhouette portrait of Victoria and Albert in profile.
Questions of protocol
As you can imagine, a lot of care and craftsmanship goes into the creation of these objects. But King George VI’s, as an example, was made in time to be distributed to several female members of the Royal Family before his coronation in May 1937. Below, you can see young Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret each wearing two orders (their father’s and their grandfather, George V’s) in official photographs from George VI’s coronation.
Members of the Royal Family, then, clearly do not have to reach a certain age before receiving a Family Order. Margaret was just 6 years old when her grandfather, George V passed away, yet here she is wearing his Order.
We only see these favors, however, when a royal attends a white-tie occasion. It’s possible that Princess Charlotte, as an example, has the Royal Family order of her grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, but we won’t know for sure until she is old enough to attend state banquets and palace receptions.
Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, likewise may have Elizabeth’s Order tucked away in a box somewhere. Still, as she never attended any white-tie events as a working royal, we cannot know whether she did or did not receive one.
Catherine, now Princess of Wales, is said to have received her QEII Royal Family Order sometime in 2017, but it was not debuted to the public until a State Banquet in October 2018.
Kate was also, incidentally, the first Royal to receive an Order with the portrait not painted on the traditional ivory backing, but rather on glass—a fitting nod to Prince William’s campaign against the illegal ivory trade, but hopefully a change that sticks for all subsequently created badges, too.
Let’s return to Princess Margaret for a great illustration of Royal Family Order Protocol. In the above portrait, she is wearing three of them—as she lived through the reigns of three monarchs: George V, George VI, and Elizabeth II. She is wearing her sister’s closest to her shoulder, as you wear them in descending order of the monarch’s reigns. In other words, the most recent monarch goes on top, and the least recent goes on the bottom.
When will we see Charles’ Order?
Soon, we may get to see another royal woman wear three of these favors: the late Queen’s cousin, Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy.
Alexandra has lived a remarkable royal life that has, like Margaret’s, spanned three reigns. Below, she is pictured at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, and the Coronation of King Charles III in 2023. As a result, she currently wears the Royal Family Orders of George VI and Queen Elizabeth II.
Most recently photographed at the State Banquet on November 21, Alexandra is currently the only living person to possess George VI’s Royal Family Order. She will also be the only person to possess three, should King Charles’ Orders be ready in time for her to wear it in public.
The shortening of the ribbons backing the current Royal Family Orders may signal that Charles’ are in production, and possibly that a royal redesign is underway. It’s perhaps fitting that his “slimmed down monarchy” also sees a less bulky ribbon make up these treasured symbols.
It’s been reported that the portrait for the King Charles III Royal Family Orders has been chosen, but the individual badges have not yet been completed. There’s also been no word on what color ribbon Charles will choose for his Orders. My money is on a pastel green, corresponding with the existing colors of past Orders but still setting him apart. Green would also be a great tie-in to Charles’ love for the environment, which we have seen him commemorate in official form through his Coronation invitations and his 74th birthday portrait, released shortly after his mother, Queen Elizabeth’s passing.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on a possible King Charles Family Order joining the ranks soon. Will we get an official announcement when they’re ready, or will we have to wait for a white-tie affair, as was the norm under Queen Elizabeth? And what color ribbon will Charles choose—or William, in the next generation, for that matter?