To mark St George's Day, the Queen has made her senior grandson, Prince William, the 1,000th Knight of the Garter in the 660th anniversary of Britain's oldest order of chivalry, which was founded in 1348 by King Edward III.
William will be invested by his grandmother at a private ceremony soon, after which he will be able to wear the well-known blue sash across his left shoulder and the silver star with the red cross of St George on his chest, as monarchs, royalty and many famous Englishmen have done for centuries.
On June 16, at Windsor Castle, he will be invested with a blue velvet garter around the left leg, below the knee, with the motto, in gold letters, "Honi soit qui mal y pense", which translates as "Shame to those who think evil of it".
Afterwards he will process through the castle wearing dark blue robes, a Tudor hat and ostrich feathers to St George's Chapel to be 'installed' under heraldic banners, helmets and the brass plates of knights that date back to the foundation.
He has been created a Royal Knight, which means that he does not constitute one of the limited number of 26 Knights, or Ladies, Companion that make up the core of the Order.
The statutes limited membership to the English monarch, the Prince of Wales and 24 other Knights Companion.
This is why William's father became a Knight of the Garter at the tender age of nine, because this is when the Queen made him Prince of Wales - and the Garter comes with the job.
One day, when he becomes king, William will be head of the order, or Sovereign.
The first Knight of the Garter was the Black Prince, who was Edward III's eldest son.
The Black Prince led English troops successfully against the French during the opening campaigns of the Hundred Years War, which was about King Edward's claim to the French throne.
For this reason, the colour of the order is blue, which was the royal livery of the kings of France.
In the strict order of knights, William appears as 999. However, historians compiling this list have overlooked the founder, Edward III, who was the uncounted knight, making William the 1000th.
Lord Luce and Sir Thomas Dunne have also been nominated today.
Recent famous knights include Sir Winston Churchill, Lord Montgomery and, more recently Baroness Thatcher.
The Queen opened the order to women in 1987.
By Sky News SkyNews - Wednesday, April 23 12:55 am
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