`Sheds considerable new light on the nature, development and functions of the orders in a key phase of their history, and goes a long way to explaining how such archaic institutions could flourish in a culture that is commonly thought anti-traditional and especially hostile to the "middle ages"'. Professor JONATHAN BOULTON, University of Notre Dame. This is the first comprehensive study to set the British orders of knighthood properly into the context of the honours system - by analysing their political, social and cultural functions from the Restoration of the monarchy to the end of George II's reign. It examines the revival of the Order of the Garter and the proposals to establish the Orders of the Royal Oak and the Esquires of the Martyred King at the Restoration, the foundation (1687) and the revival (1703-4) of the Order of the Thistle as well as the foundation of the Order of the Bath (1725). It establishes just how central a part the orders played in the British high political life and its comprehensive and multidimensional approach carefully contrasts the idealistic discourse of virtue and honour to the real workings of the honours system; it also makes the case for the 'Chivalric Enlightenment'. The 'orders over the water', the Garter and the Thistle conferred by the Jacobite claimants, are discussed for the first time in the context of the established British honours system. Overall, the comparison between the socially very restricted British and the increasingly meritocratic Continental orders highlights the isolation of the British honours system from the European tendencies.

The evidence is still that honours are more likely to be awarded to civil servants and celebrities than to people who volunteer in their local community. The Committee heard that the process of awarding honours remains opaque, even to the Queen's representatives in the counties, the Lords Lieutenant. PASC calls for an increase in the proportion of people receiving honours for work in their local community, rather than to those who are awarded for their work as civil servants and in the wider public sector. This report sets out proposals to increase accountability and transparency and strengthening the link to the Monarch. These include: the introduction of an independent Honours Commission to consider nominations (a repeat recommendation from the last parliament); that the Prime Minister's "strategic direction" over the honours system be removed; a rebalancing of the proportion of honours awarded to civil servants and public sector workers, and volunteers in their local communities; that longer citations should be published, explaining the reason for awarding an honour; that the Lords Lieutenant should have an opportunity to consider and comment on all nominations for an honour within his or her lieutenancy; and that the Cabinet Office set out proposals for broadening the range of people who take up roles as independent members of the honours committees. The Committee also recommends, considering the decision to strip Fred Goodwin of his knighthood, that the Honours Forfeiture Committee be made independent and transparent, with clear and expanded criteria for forfeiture, chaired by an independent figure, such as a retired high court judge

This updated, full-colour illustrated book recounts the history of Canada’s various national orders, decorations, and medals. This expanded and updated edition of The Canadian Honours System surveys the history of Canada’s various orders, decorations, and medals, from New France’s Croix de St. Louis, Britain’s the Order of the Bath, to modern Canadian honours such as the Sacrifice Medal and recently created Polar Medal. Since the establishment of the Order of Canada in 1967, the Canadian honours system has grown to become one of the most comprehensive in the world — with more than 300,000 Canadians having been rewarded over the past fifty years. Each honour in the modern Canadian honours system, and its precursor, the British imperial honours system, is examined here in detail, including historical background, design, and criteria for bestowal. With special chapters on heraldry, protocol, and the proper mounting and wearing of medals, The Canadian Honours System is an essential reference for anyone interested in Canadian honours.

A history of the British Crown honours system in the 20th century, showing its evolution through a period of democratisation and decolonisation, Tobias Harper examines how governments used the honours system to shape ideologies of loyalty and service, while dissidents turned the symbolism of honours against the Crown.

The Treaty of Niagara extended the ancient Silver Covenant Chain of Friendship, establishing the key relationships between the Crown and First Nations in what would become Canada. As the country works to repair its broken relationship with First Nations, demands are growing for representatives of the Crown to take an active role in this effort.

1935. Norfolk. War is looming in Great Britain and the sprawling country estate of Alderberen Hall is shadowed by suspicion and paranoia. Thirteen-year-old Delphine Venner is determined to uncover the secrets of the Hall's elite society, which has taken in her gullible mother and unstable father. As she explores the house and discovers the secret network of hidden passages that thread through the estate, Delphine uncovers a world more dark and threatening than she ever imagined.

The Committee is conducting an inquiry into issues of propriety, transparency and accountability in the honours system in light of recent allegations that honours have been offered in return for loans to party funds and sponsorship of the Government's city academy schools and that loans have been made to political parties to avoid disclosure under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. This report follows on from previous Committee reports on the subject published in July 2004 (HCP 212-I, session 2003-04, ISBN 0215018370) and March 2006 (HCP 1020, session 2005-06, ISBN 0215028252). This report sets out the Committee's provisional findings, notwithstanding a Metropolitan Police investigation into the allegations, having taken evidence from the Cabinet Secretary, Metropolitan Police officers and members of the House of Lords Appointments Commission. Findings include that, to improve transparency in the appointments process, citations for all honours should be published, particularly for higher honours, and there should be a declaration signed by the candidate stating clearly any financial connection to a political party. It recommends that the role, powers and independence of the Appointments Commission should be defined in statute, and that the Commission should consult with political parties and others about the criteria it uses to assess the probity of nominees.