The Royal Family Order of Elizabeth II is an honour that was bestowed on female members of the British royal family by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. The order is worn on formal occasions.

Appearance

The Royal Family Order depicts a young Queen Elizabeth II in evening dress wearing the ribbon and star of the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the Georg ...

. The miniature, painted on ivory (glass since 2017), is bordered by diamonds and surmounted by a

Tudor Crown The Tudor Crown, also known as Henry VIII's Crown, was the imperial crown, imperial and state crown of Kingdom of England, English monarchs from around the time of Henry VIII until it was destroyed during the English Civil War, Civil War in 16 ...

in diamonds and red enamel. The reverse, in silver-gilt, is patterned with rays and depicts the royal cypher and

St Edward's Crown St Edward's Crown is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, versions of it have traditionally been used to crown English and British monarchs at their coronations since the 13th cen ...

in gold and enamel. The watered silk ribbon is chartreuse yellow and formed into a bow. It is worn pinned to the dress of the recipient on the left shoulder.

List of known recipients

Deceased

* 1952:

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was th ...

(mother of Elizabeth II) * 1952: Queen Mary (grandmother of Elizabeth II) * 1952:

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

(younger sister of Elizabeth II) * 1952:

Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (Victoria Alexandra Alice Mary; 25 April 1897 – 28 March 1965), was a member of the British royal family. She was the only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary, the sister of Kings Edward VIII ...

(aunt of Elizabeth II) * 1952:

Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, (born Lady Alice Christabel Montagu Douglas Scott; 25 December 1901 – 29 October 2004) was the wife of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V and Queen Mary. She was the moth ...

, later Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (aunt of Elizabeth II) * 1952:

Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (27 August 1968), born Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark ( el, Μαρίνα), was a Greek princess by birth and a British princess by marriage. She was a daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark a ...

(aunt of Elizabeth II) * 1952:

Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (Alice Mary Victoria Augusta Pauline; 25 February 1883 – 3 January 1981) was a member of the British royal family. She is the longest-lived British princess of royal blood, and was the last surviving grand ...

(great-aunt of Elizabeth II) * 1981:

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

, (daughter-in-law of Elizabeth II) (Order returned in 1996)

Living

* 1952:

Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy (Alexandra Helen Elizabeth Olga Christabel; born 25 December 1936) is a member of the British royal family. Queen Elizabeth II and Alexandra were first cousins through their fathers, King George V ...

(first cousin of Elizabeth II) * 1961:

Katharine, Duchess of Kent Katharine, Duchess of Kent, (born Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley, 22 February 1933) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, a grandson of King George V. The Duchess of Kent converted to Roman Ca ...

(wife of Elizabeth II's first cousin) * 1969:

Anne, Princess Royal Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of ...

(daughter of Elizabeth II) * 1973:

Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester, (born Birgitte Eva van Deurs Henriksen; 20 June 1946) is a Danish member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, a grandson of George V. They have three children. E ...

(wife of Elizabeth II's first cousin) * 2004:

Sophie, Countess of Wessex Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Forfar, (born Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones, 20 January 1965) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, the youngest brother of King Charles III. She grew u ...

(daughter-in-law of Elizabeth II) * 2007:

Camilla, Queen Consort Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the ac ...

(daughter-in-law of Elizabeth II) * 2017:

Catherine, Princess of Wales Catherine, Princess of Wales, (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne, making Catherine the likely nex ...

(granddaughter-in-law of Elizabeth II)

Gallery

File:Princess Alexandra Royal visit to Townsville, 1959.jpg, Princess Alexandra wearing her orders File:Margaret prinses van Engel (Bestanddeelnr 092-1353).jpg, Princess Margaret wearing her order File:HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales, and HRH The Princess of Wales with Sir James Ramsay, Governor of Queensland, and Lady Ramsay, Brisbane, 1983.jpg, Diana, Princess of Wales wearing her order File:Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother portrait.jpg, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother wearing her orders File:Sophie, grevinna av Wessex.jpg, The Countess of Wessex and Forfar wearing her order File:President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump's Visit to the United Kingdom (48007906747) (cropped).jpg, The Duchess of Cornwall (later queen consort) wearing her order

References