SUPPORT OUR JOURNALISM: Please consider donating to keep our website running and free for all - thank you!

The Order of the Garter ceremony will see two new royal knights join the procession for the first time. King Felipe VI of Spain and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands will be invested at Windsor following their recent appointments to the order. The Queen made King Felipe a Supernumerary Knight in 2017 and conferred the same honour on King Willem-Alexander in 2018.

The two men will join a select band of ‘extra’ knights and ladies companion of the garter and the faces will be very familiar as they include Felipe’s father and Willem-Alexander’s mother. The supernumerary knights are chosen by the Queen from her royal counterparts and several of Europe’s reigning houses are currently featured. Here they are, in order of appointment.

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark

Embed from Getty Images

Appointed 1979

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden

Embed from Getty Images

Appointed 1983

King Juan Carlos I of Spain

Embed from Getty Images

Appointed 1988

Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands

Embed from Getty Images

Appointed 1989

Emperor Emeritus Akihito of Japan

Embed from Getty Images

Appointed 1998

King Harald V of Norway

Embed from Getty Images

Appointed 2001

And the newest appointments are….

King Felipe VI of Spain

Embed from Getty Images

Appointed 2017

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands

Embed from Getty Images

Appointed 2018

The Order of the Garter ceremony where King Felipe and King Willem-Alexander will be invested takes place on Monday June 17th at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor. Royal Central will bring you all the details as they happen on the day.

About author

Lydia Starbuck is Jubilee and Associate Editor at Royal Central and the main producer and presenter of the Royal Central Podcast and Royal Central Extra. Lydia is also a pen name of June Woolerton who is a journalist and writer with over twenty years experience in TV, radio, print and online. Her latest book, A History of British Royal Jubilees, is out now. Her new book, The Mysterious Death of Katherine Parr, will be published in March 2024. June is an award winning reporter, producer and editor. She's appeared on outlets including BBC 5 Live, BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Local Radio and has also helped set up a commercial radio station. June is also an accomplished writer with a wide range of material published online and in print. She is the author of two novels, published as e-books. She is also a marriage registrar and ceremony celebrant.