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The Most Noble Order of the Garter is a British order of chivalry. It is the world's oldest national order of knighthood in continuous existence and the pinnacle of the British honours system (after the Victoria Cross and George Cross). Its membership is extremely limited, consisting of the Sovereign, the Prince of Wales—both being members ex officio and gaining membership upon acceding to one of the titles if not already held—and not more than 24 full members known as Companions. Male members are known as Knights Companion, whilst female members are known as Ladies Companion. The Order can also include supernumerary members (members of the British royal family and foreign monarchs), known as "Royal" and "Stranger" Knights and Ladies (Companion), respectively. The Sovereign alone grants membership to the Order, meaning that ministerial advice is not sought.

Sovereign

Name	Year of appointment	Present age	Banner
The King (ex officio)	1958 as The Prince of Wales; Sovereign since 2022	76

Royal Knights and Ladies (Companion)

Name	Year of appointment	Present age	Notes
The Duke of Kent KG, GCMG, GCVO, CD, ADC	1985	89
The Princess Royal KG, KT, GCVO, GCStJ, QSO, GCL, CMM, CD, ADC	1994	74	Royal Knight Companion^[1]
The Duke of Gloucester KG, GCVO, GCStJ, SSI	1997	80
Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy KG, GCVO, CD	2003	88	Royal Knight Companion^[1]
The Duke of York KG, GCVO, CD	2006	64
The Duke of Edinburgh KG, KT, GCVO, CD, ADC	2006 as The Earl of Wessex; The Duke of Edinburgh since 2023	60
The Prince of Wales KG, KT, GCB, PC, ADC (ex officio)	2008 as Prince William of Wales; The Prince of Wales since 2022	42	1000th Knight of the Garter
The Queen LG, LT, ONZ, GCVO, GBE, CSM, CD, PC	January 2022 as The Duchess of Cornwall; The Queen since September 2022	77	Royal Lady
The Duchess of Gloucester LG, GCVO, DStJ, CD	2024	78	Royal Lady Companion

Stranger Knights and Ladies Companion

Name	Year of appointment	Present age	Notes
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark LG	1979 as Queen; abdicated 2024	84	Recipient of the Royal Victorian Chain
The King of Sweden KG	1983	78	Recipient of the Royal Victorian Chain; also Honorary Admiral in the Royal Navy
King Juan Carlos I of Spain KG	1988 as King; abdicated 2014	86	Recipient of the Royal Victorian Chain
Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands LG, GCVO	1989 as Queen; abdicated 2013	86	Recipient of the Royal Victorian Chain
Emperor Akihito of Japan KG, GCVO	1998 as Emperor; abdicated 2019	91
The King of Norway KG, GCVO	2001	87	Recipient of the Royal Victorian Chain; also Honorary Colonel in the Royal Marines and Honorary General in the British Army
The King of Spain KG, GCVO	2017	56
The King of the Netherlands KG	2018	57
The Emperor of Japan KG	2024	64

Knights and Ladies Companion

Member number^{[N 1]}	Name	Known for	Year of appointment	Present age
1-(986)	The Duke of Abercorn KG	Lord Steward and Lord-Lieutenant of Tyrone	1999	90
2-(992)	The Lord Butler of Brockwell KG, GCB, CVO, PC	Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service	2003	86
3-(994)	Sir John Major KG, CH, PC	Prime Minister	2005	81
4-(999)	The Lord Luce KG, GCVO, PC, DL	Lord Chamberlain and Governor of Gibraltar	2008	88
5-(1001)	Sir Thomas Dunne KG, KCVO, JP	Lord-Lieutenant of Herefordshire and Lord-Lieutenant of Worcestershire	2008	91
6-(1002)	The Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers KG, PC, KC	Lord Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Court	2011	86
7-(1004)	Marshal of the Royal Air Force The Lord Stirrup KG, GCB, AFC	Chief of the Defence Staff	2013	75
8-(1005)	The Baroness Manningham-Buller LG, DCB	Director General of the Security Service	2014	76
9-(1006)	The Lord King of Lothbury KG, GBE, DL, FBA	Governor of the Bank of England	2014	76
10-(1007)	The Lord Shuttleworth KG, KCVO	Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire	2016	76
11-(1010)	The Viscount Brookeborough KG, KStJ	Lord in Waiting to The King and Lord-Lieutenant of Fermanagh	2018	72
12-(1011)	Lady Mary Fagan LG, DCVO, DStJ, JP	Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire	2018	85
13-(1013)	The Marquess of Salisbury KG, KCVO, PC, DL	Deputy Lieutenant of Hertfordshire and Leader of the House of Lords	2019	78
14-(1014)	Lady Mary Peters LG, CH, DBE	Olympic gold medallist and Lord-Lieutenant of Belfast	2019	85
15-(1015)	The Baroness Amos LG, CH, PC	United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Leader of the House of Lords and Secretary of State for International Development	2022	70
16-(1016)	Sir Tony Blair KG, PC	Prime Minister	2022	71
17-(1017)	The Baroness Ashton of Upholland LG, GCMG, PC	High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Leader of the House of Lords	2023	68
18-(1018)	The Lord Patten of Barnes KG, CH, PC	Governor of Hong Kong, Chairman of the BBC Trust, and Chancellor of the University of Oxford	2023	80
19-(1019)	Air Chief Marshal The Lord Peach KG, GBE, KCB, DL	Chief of the Defence Staff and Chair of the NATO Military Committee	2024	68
20-(1020)	The Lord Kakkar KG, KBE, PC	Chairman of the Judicial Appointments Commission and Chairman of the House of Lords Appointments Commission		60
21-(1021)	The Lord Lloyd-Webber KG	Composer and impresario of musical theatre		76
22	Vacant ^{[N 2]}
23	Vacant ^{[N 3]}
24	Vacant ^{[N 4]}

Officers

Prelate: Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Winchester (ex officio, 2023)
Chancellor: The Baroness Manningham-Buller (2024)
Register:^[2] Dr Christopher Cocksworth, Dean of Windsor (ex officio, 2023)
King of Arms: David White , Garter Principal King of Arms (ex officio, 2021)
Secretary: Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Segrave (2024)
Usher: Sarah Clarke , Lady Usher of the Black Rod (ex officio, 2018)

Notes

^ The number shown in brackets is the individual's place in the wider order of appointment since the Order's inception.
^ Vacant following the death of The Lord Boyce on 6 November 2022.
^ Vacant following the death of Sir David Brewer on 28 May 2023.
^ Vacant following the death of The Lord Morris of Aberavon on 5 June 2023.

References

^ ^a ^b Addressing the Royal Family - Debrett's at the Wayback Machine (archived 17 February 2017)
^ "The Register of the Order of the Garter". The Companion – magazine for the College of St George. No. 21. The Dean and Canons of Windsor. 13 June 2015. p. 12. Retrieved 23 April 2021 – via issuu.com.