The Royal Family Order of Elizabeth II is an honour which was bestowed on female members of the British royal family by Queen Elizabeth II. The order is worn by recipients on formal occasions.[1]
Appearance
The Royal Family Order depicts a young Queen Elizabeth II in evening dress wearing the ribbon and star of the Order of the Garter. The miniature, painted on ivory (glass since 2017),[2] is bordered by diamonds and surmounted by a Tudor Crown in diamonds and red enamel. The reverse, in silver-gilt, is patterned with rays and depicts the royal cypher and St Edward's Crown in gold and enamel. The watered silk ribbon is chartreuse yellow and formed into a bow. It is worn pinned to the dress of the recipient on the left shoulder.[3]
It was provided in two different sizes: the larger version was bestowed on the Queen's mother, grandmother and sister, and size two to the other recipients.[3] (After the death of Queen Mary, Princess Margaret began wearing her grandmother's size 1 badge.)[4]
List of known recipients
The initial badges were presented at Christmas 1952.[3]
^"Royal Family Orders". Official website of the British monarchy. Royal Household. Archived from the original on 7 March 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
^ abcdeRisk, James; Pownall, Henry; Stanley, David; Tamplin, John (2001). Royal Service (Volume II). Lingfield, Surrey: Third Millennium. pp. 34–42.
^Risk, James; Pownall, Henry; Stanley, David; Tamplin, John (2001). Royal Service (Volume II). Lingfield, Surrey: Third Millennium. Photograph on p. 35.
^Shawcroft, William (2009). Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother: The Official Biography. Macmillan. ISBN978-1-4050-4859-0.
^Vickers, Hugo (1994). Royal Orders. Boxtree. p. 147. ISBN9781852835101. The Queen gave her Royal Family Order to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, the late Queen Mary, Princess Margaret, the late Princess Royal...
^"Mailbox". Royal Insight. April 2006. p. 3. Archived from the original on 6 August 2007.
^World Orders of Knighthood and Merit: Volume 1. Burke's Peerage & Gentry. 2006. p. 832.
^Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage 2008. Debrett's. 2008. p. 97. ISBN9781870520805.
^"HRH The Duchess of Cornwall". The Prince of Wales website. 10 November 2018. Archived from the original on 10 November 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2018.