The Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, or simply the Central Chancery, is an office of the

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main c ...

’s department within the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It is responsible for the administration of orders of chivalry and some aspects of

honours Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...

in general. It does not deal with nominations or decisions on appointments, but rather administers the appointment procedures and investitures, and provides the insignia. It is a small office, with eight staff in 2019.Jonathan P. K. Smith. ''The Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood''. Orders & Medals Research Society Journal, volume 58, number 3, page 172. September 2019.

History and duties

The office was established by

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

in April 1904 in response to the recommendations of a committee set up in 1902 to consider changes to the administration of the honours system. The new office replaced the

ad hoc Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with '' a priori''.) C ...

arrangements which had evolved over time. The Central Chancery is headed by a Secretary, who is assisted by an Assistant Secretary. Since 1991, the Secretary of the Central Chancery has been the same individual who serves as Assistant Comptroller to the Lord Chamberlain's Office, and currently serves ''

ex-officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

'' as the registrar of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

and of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

. Since 1931, the office has been held by retired officers of the Armed Forces.

List of Secretaries

* Sir Francis Morgan Bryant (1916–1931) * Rear Admiral Philip John Hawkins Lander Row (1931–1932) * Commander

Dudley Colles Commander Sir Ernest Dudley Gordon Colles (5 April 1889 – 13 July 1976) was an Irish Royal Navy officer and courtier, who served in the Royal Households of George VI and Elizabeth II. Colles was educated at Winchester College and was commis ...

(1932–1936) * Major Sir Henry Hudson Fraser Stockley (1936–1946) *

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

Sir Ivan de la Bere (1946–1960) *

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Sir Cyril Harry Colquhoun (1960–1968) * Major General Sir Peter Bernard Gillett (1968–1979) * Major General Sir Desmond Hind Garrett Rice (1980–1989) * Lieutenant Colonel Sir Walter Ross (1989–1991) * Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Charles McClure Mather (1991–1999) * Lieutenant Colonel Robert Guy Cartwright (1999–2005) * Lieutenant Colonel Sir Alexander Fergus Matheson of Matheson, 8th Baronet (2005–2014) * Lieutenant Colonel James Vernon (2014–2019) * Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Segrave (2019–present)The Court Circular, 17 June 2019
Retrieved 17 October 2019.

References

External links

*
British Monarchy website
{{British Honours System British honours system Orders of chivalry of the United Kingdom