The Investitures

Twenty two times a year some one hundred and thirty men and women go to Buckingham Palace to receive from the Queen the awards bestowed on them in the New Year and Queen's Birthday Honours Lists. For most of them, and for the guests they are allowed to take with them, this is the first and only time that they will pass through the gates, cross the Forecourt and enter the Quadrangle, go under the portico to the Grand Entrance and then up the Grand Staircase to the State Apartments where recipients assemble to be briefed and to the Ballroom where the Investitures take place.

It is difficult to imagine how this experience must feel, it is also interesting to know what the orders and decorations themselves mean and the historical background to them. Therefore, here is an account of the Orders of Chivalry and the decorations presented at Investitures which we hope will enable everyone to appreciate even more the honour done to those who receive these and the distinguished company they have joined.