Garter Day – 19th June 2023 at Windsor Castle

On Monday the 19th June 2023, Garter Day, The Knights and Ladies of the Order together with the Officers of the Order, gathered in the State Apartments at the command of the King. New Knights and Ladies of the Order will be invested with the insignia and mantle in the Garter Throne Room. As the investiture takes place the new Companion receives an exhortation to the Christian faith. In the afternoon, the members of the Order of the Garter take part in a procession from the Upper Ward to the Chapel. This is a joyful procession giving public witness to the long tradition of the Sovereign and members of the Order giving their allegiance to God, and then the new Knights and Ladies of the Order are installed during the service in St George’s Chapel.

The whole event is covered by `ticket only’ and my wife Judy and I were fortunate to know two of the Military Knights who are ex-Members of The Parachute Regiment, Lt Col DM Leigh and Major E W Morgan. We were invited and hosted by the former, although I know both.

A brief word about the Military Knights. The Military Knights of Windsor, originally were the Alms Knights and informally known as the Poor Knights, are retired military officers who receive a pension and accommodation at  Windsor Castle, and who provide support for the Order of the Garter and for the services of St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. They are commanded by a senior retired officer known as the Governor of the Military Knights of Windsor. 

The Alms Knights of St. George's Chapel were constituted by King Edward lll following the Battle of Crécy in 1346, when many knights who had been captured by the French were forced to liquidate their estates to raise ransom money in order to secure their release. At the original establishment of the Order of the Garter and its Chapel at Windsor in 1348, veteran warriors were called to "serve God continually in prayer". In the statutes of the College of St. George's, a community of twenty-six bedesmen, called Alms Knights or Poor Knights, were appointed. Their duties included attending four services per day and praying for the Sovereign and the Knights of the Order of the Garter and they were given rooms. The Alms Knights were known as a chantry which is a religious foundation organised to pray for its patron. Poor Knights were originally impoverished military veterans, and they were required to pray daily for the Sovereign and the Knights Companions of the Order of the Garter; in return, they received 12d per day and 40/- per year and were lodged in Windsor Castle. Poverty was an important attribute of bedesmen, and indeed if any Poor Knight were to acquire assets with an annual income of £20 or more, he would be removed from the college. Things are rather different today. 

King Henry Vlll halved their number to thirteen, Elizabeth I re-founded the order in 1559, then at his restoration, King Charles ll increased the number to eighteen. Finally, King William lv re-named them the Military Knights of Windsor in 1833. Today as I said, the Military Knights, who are no longer necessarily poor, are still military pensioners, then participate in the Order's processions, escorting the Knights and Ladies of the Garter, and attend the daily services in St. George's Chapel. (I suspect that they have a Duty Military Knight who does this daily for them all apart from services on a Sunday when all will attend.) They are not members of the Order itself, nor are they automatically a knight of any chivalric order. The Governor is always a Senior retired officer.

On the day, we were met by our host and his wife and given plenty of champagne to kick things off followed by a sumptuous Buffet Lunch, including Coronation Quiche. We were then escorted to our position directly opposite the West Door of the Chapel so the procession would pass within feet of us. Arriving early and standing at the West Door were the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Edinburgh, Admiral Sir Timothy Lawrence (his wife, Princess Royal is a Lady of the Order and was in the Procession), and other minor Royals.  The route lining was by the Household Cavalry Regiment with the Blues and Royals and Life Guards in dismounted role. The Duke of Kent was present for the service but did not process.

The New Knight and Lady were The Lord Patten of Barnes and The Baroness Ashford of Upholland, and the Order was Sir Tony Blair, The Baroness Amos, Lady Mary Peters, The Marquess of Salisbury, Lady Mary Fagan, The Viscount Brookeborough, The Lord Shuttleworth, The Lord King of Lothbury, The Baroness Manningham-Buller, The Lord Stirrup. The Lord Philipps of Worth Matravers, The Lord Luce, Sir John Major and The Lord Butler of Brockwell. They were followed by  the Royal party led by King Charles lll and Queen Camilla, then The Duke of Gloucester and The Princess Royal, followed by the Prince of Wales and The Duke of Edinburgh. Then come the Officers of the Order, Black Rod, The Secretary, The Register of the Order (who is also the Dean of Windsor and The King’s Domestic Chaplain, and he lives in the Castle. He walks with The Garter King of Arms who is the Senior Herald at the College of Arms. Finally in this group is the Chancellor, The Duke of Abercorn, who also is a Knight of the Garter.

Have you got that…?

There are sundry others taking part such as the Silver Stick in Waiting and The Field Officer in Brigade Waiting following The Sovereign and The Queen, Yeomen of the Guard, Military Knights. The Constable and the Governor of Windsor Castle the other Officers of Arms who are the Pursuivants and Heralds, and of course two military bands, on the Dismounted Band of the Household Cavalry Regiment  and he Band of The Scots Guards. All in all, a remarkable spectacle and as my host had warned us, the `best fancy-dress parade in the World!’

Finally, the photo above is the Paras contingent present on the Day out of the 23 guests hosted by David and Liz Leigh taken outside their house in Lower Ward, Windsor Castle.

Patrick Conn
28th June 2023