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The special royal gifts that got everyone talking in 2024

The royals like to hand out honours and decorations during state visits or at designated times of the year, and in 2024 we got a bevy of them! Let’s take a look back at some of the highlights.

The Royal Family order of King Charles III

One of the last mysteries of King Charles III’s accession was finally solved in June, when Queen Camilla debuted the Royal Family Order of King Charles III at the state banquet honouring the Emperor and Empress of Japan.

Handout

For King Charles’s family order, a miniature portrait of the Monarch was painted on polymin—breaking the long tradition of an ivory base—featuring His Majesty wearing the uniform of Admiral of the Fleet with the adornments of the Royal Victorian Order, the Order of the Garter, the Order of the Thistle, and the Order of the Bath. His order is laid upon a pale blue ribbon.

While Queen Camilla was the first to debut the Royal Family Order of King Charles III, the Duchess of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal and the Duchess of Gloucester have since been photographed wearing it.

Grand Master and First or Principal Dame Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire

Say that one after a sherry or three. It’s been a longstanding tradition that the consort of the monarch is named Grand Master of the Order of the Empire. Queen Mary once held the role, and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, held the title from 1953 until his death in 2021.

Photo by Millie Pilkington

So it wasn’t a shock when King Charles announced that Queen Camilla would now become Grand Master and First or Principal Grand Dame Cross of the Order of the British Empire in April. The Order of the British Empire was established in 1917 and awards people from the worlds of arts, culture, charity and public services.

Great Master of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath

Prince William was named Great Master of the Order of the Bath at the same time—now, next to King Charles, William is the senior-most member of this Order.

Picture by i-Images / Pool

The Order of the Bath is typically granted to senior military officials or civil servants and was first introduced in 1725.

Royal Companion of the Order of the Companions of Honours

The Princess of Wales was granted an entirely new chivalric position this year by her father-in-law: as Royal Companion of the Order of the Companions of Honour.

Stephen Lock / i-Images

Founded in 1917 by King George V, the order recognises the very best in the worlds of arts, medicine, sciences and government.

Order of the Garter

The Duchess of Gloucester was named as a Royal Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter on St. George’s Day, a personal gift from King Charles recognising her decades of service on behalf of the British Royal Family.

Notably, it was King Charles’s first personal bestowal to a member of the British Royal Family since his accession. Queen Camilla had been appointed in January 2022 by the late Queen Elizabeth II while she was still the Duchess of Cornwall.

Picture by Stephen Lock / i-Images

The Duchess of Gloucester was officially installed on Garter Day in June—walking the processional alongside her husband, who’s been a Royal Knight Companion since 1997. The Order of the Garter is the topmost order in the United Kingdom and has been awarded since the time of Edward III in 1348.

Meanwhile, as an honour presented during the Japanese State Visit to the United Kingdom in June, Emperor Naruhito was named as a Stranger Knight Companion to the Order of the Garter. Stranger Knights are always foreign monarchs, and Emperor Naruhito is the latest—King Willem-Alexander was the last monarch added back in 2018.

Order of the Thistle

You can set your clock to 10 March and await a new birthday honour for the Duke of Edinburgh, youngest brother of King Charles. In 2024, he was named an Extra Knight of the Order of the Thistle. Scotland’s chivalric order is limited to 16 people and ‘extra’ knights and ladies made up of members of the British Royal Family.

Royal Family/ Instagram

Prince Edward became a member on his 60th birthday and was installed over the summer at the Thistle Chapel in St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh.  

The Royal Family Order of King Frederik X

If King Charles III has taken two years to finalise all the details of his accession, King Frederik has been doing his at a speed run. Not even a full calendar year passed before the Royal Family Order of King Frederik X debuted, worn by Queen Mary—so far the only known recipient—on her chest in official portraits.

Steen Evald/Kongehuset

The ‘Ordensportrættet’ is similarly bestowed only to female members of the Danish Royal Family at the monarch’s discretion. Queen Mary’s is particularly special though, because the miniature portrait of her husband rests inside a 200-year-old diamond frame that once belonged to Empress Amelie of Brazil! But unlike the British Royal Family’s family order, the ribbon doesn’t change with each reign. Instead, all Ordensportrættets rest on a white and red ribbon to mimic the colours of the Danish flag.

The Order of the Elephant in Denmark

It’s customary that the monarch’s children become automatic members of the Order of the Elephant upon accession; and so on 14 January, Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine all received the designation. However, they’ll be officially presented with the honour when they each turn 18.

Dennis Stenild, Kongehuset ©

Prince Daniel, husband to Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria, received the Order of the Elephant on 6 May, during the Danish State Visit to Sweden.

Order of the Seraphim in Sweden

Queen Mary was named a member of the Order of the Seraphim during the Danish State Visit to Sweden on 6 May.

The King and Queen of Sweden and the King and Queen of Denmark in an official portrait marking the first State Visit of the reign of Frederik X
Clément Morin/The Royal Court of Sweden

The highest chivalric order in Sweden, the Order of the Seraphim was founded in 1748 and its insignia takes on a pale blue—or ‘seraphim blue’ as its referred to in Sweden.

Order of King Charles III (Spain), Order of Isabella the Catholic (Spain), Order of the Netherlands Lion and Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau (Netherlands)

No wonder Queen Letizia took a seat for the build up to the State Dinner at the State Visit to the Netherlands. There were so many orders being given out, you needed a degree in history to understand them all.

Queen Máxima gained a new honour during the Spanish State Visit to the Netherlands in April: she was named as a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III. This chivalric order is one of three handed out in Spain, first created in 1771, and presented to high-ranking officials and heads of state, as well as to those who work on behalf of Spain.

Princess Catharina-Amalia received her first two foreign honours this year, and one of them was Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic. This is one of the three chivalric orders presented by Spain, created in 1815, and it is awarded to those who promote international relations.  

Casa de S.M. el Rey

King Felipe was named as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion during the Spanish State Visit to the Netherlands in April. The Order of the Netherlands Lion is presented to those who excel in the arts, science, sport and literature; but the Knight Grand Cross class is reserved for members of the Dutch Royal Family, foreign royals, or select heads of states.

Queen Letizia was named to the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau, a rare honour that is jointly mastered by King Willem-Alexander and Grand Duke Henri. It can only be awarded by either sovereign and is always a gift, in the Netherlands, for personal services to the monarch.

Grand Cross of the Military Order of Christ (Portugal)

Two future queens received the Military Order of Christ from Portugal this year. Princess Leonor, the future queen of Spain, received the Grand Cross of the Order on 12 July, during her first official visit abroad. Princess Catharina-Amalia, meanwhile, received it on 10 December during the Portuguese State Visit to the Netherlands.

Koninklijkhuis Instagram still/ fair use

The Military Order of Christ has been awarded since 1319 and is currently presented to those in public service.

Collar of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum (Japan)

King Charles III moved up a grade of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum this year.

Royal Family/ Instagram

Emperor Naruhito promoted him to the highest level of Japan’s highest chivalric order in June during the long awaited State Visit to the UK.

Sword of the Founder Sheikh Jassim Bin Mohammed Bin Thani (Qatar)

King Charles III received Qatar’s highest honour during the Qatari State Visit to the United Kingdom in November—the Sword of the Founder Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani.

i-Images/ Pool

It is only presented to heads of state and kings or princes, and the sword and decorations are made of 18 carat gold.

About author

Jess Ilse is the Assistant Editor at Royal Central. She specialises in the British, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish Royal Families and has been following royalty since Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee. Jess has provided commentary for media outlets in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Jess works in communications and her debut novel THE MAJESTIC SISTERS is now available.