The Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order was born from Her Majesty Queen Victoria’s wish to reward subjects for their personal service to the Queen. Instituted on 21st April, 1896, it remains an order personally awarded by the Sovereign. It’s this personal touch that makes it particularly treasured by those who receive it.
The order’s home is the Queen’s Chapel of the Savoy. However, the number of Knights in the order has increased to the degree that the chapel simply isn’t big enough to house all the members. Keeping the chapel as the order’s spiritual home, the services are now held every four years at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
At this service, the Knights wear a mantle of dark blue silk satin edged with red silk satin and lined with white silk taffeta. On the left breast sits a hand embroidered gold and silver badge with the order’s emblem: a white, eight-pointed Maltese Cross with Queen Victoria’s royal monogram in the centre. Around the monogram sits the motto, “Victoria”. Like the Garter and Thistle orders, this order has a hood attached to the right shoulder. The mantle closes at the front with blue and gold embroidered cordons, and the gold collar is attached to the mantle with white silk satin shoulder bows.
Ede and Ravenscroft has made mantles for the Royal Victorian Order since it was founded, and continues to do so today.
