Order of Merit

The Order of Merit (French: Ordre du Mérite)^{[n 1]} is a dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by King Edward VII, admission into the order remains the personal gift of its Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, and is limited to 24 living recipients at one time from these countries plus a limited number of honorary members.^[1][2] While all members receive the ability to use the post-nominal letters OM and a medallion for life,^[3] the Order of Merit's precedence amongst other honours differs amongst Commonwealth realms.

History

The first mention of a possible Order of Merit was made following the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, in correspondence between First Lord of the Admiralty The Lord Barham and William Pitt, though nothing eventuated from the idea.^[4] Later, it was thought by Queen Victoria, her courtiers, and politicians alike,^[5] that a new order, based on the Prussian order Pour le Mérite, would make up for the insufficient recognition offered by the established honours system to achievement outside of public service, in realms such as art, music, literature, industry, and science.^[4] Victoria's husband, Albert, Prince Consort, took an interest in the matter; it was recorded in his diary that he met on 16 January 1844 with Robert Peel to discuss the "idea of institution of a civil Order of Merit" and three days later he conferred with the Queen on the subject.^[6] The concept did not wither and, on 5 January 1888, British prime minister the Marquess of Salisbury submitted to the Queen a draft constitution for an Order of Merit in Science and Art, consisting of one grade split into two branches of knighthood: the Order of Scientific Merit for Knights of Merit in Science, with the post-nominal letters KMS and the Order of Artistic Merit for Knights of Merit in Art, with the post-nominal letters KMA. However, Sir Frederic Leighton, President of the Royal Academy, advised against the new order, primarily because of its selection process.^[7]

It was Victoria's son, Edward VII, who eventually founded the Order of Merit on 26 June 1902 the date for which his coronation had been originally planned^[8] as a means to acknowledge "exceptionally meritorious service in Our Navy and Our Army, or who may have rendered exceptionally meritorious service towards the advancement of Art, Literature and Science";^[9] all modern aspects of the order were established under his direction, including the division for military figures.^[3] From the outset, prime ministers attempted to propose candidates or lobbied to influence the monarch's decision on appointments, but the Royal Household adamantly guarded information about potential names.^[3] After 1931, when the Statute of Westminster came into being and the Dominions of the British Empire became independent states, equal in status to the UK,^[10][11] the Order of Merit remained an honour open to all the King's realms; thus, as with the monarch who conferred it, the order ceased to be purely British.^[1][12]

From its inception, the order has been open to women, Florence Nightingale being the first woman to receive the honour, in 1907. Several individuals have refused admission into the Order of Merit, such as Rudyard Kipling, A. E. Housman, and George Bernard Shaw. To date, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, remains the youngest person ever inducted into the Order of Merit, having been admitted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1968, when he was 47 years of age.^[3]

Eligibility and appointment

All citizens of the Commonwealth realms are eligible for appointment to the Order of Merit. There may be, however, only 24 living individuals in the order at any given time, not including honorary appointees, and new members are personally selected by the reigning monarch of the 16 realms, presently Queen Elizabeth II, with the assistance of her private secretaries;^[3] the order has thus been described as "quite possibly, the most prestigious honour one can receive on planet Earth."^[13] Within the limited membership is a designated military division, with its own unique insignia; though it has not been abolished, it is currently unpopulated, the Earl Mountbatten of Burma having been the last person so honoured.^[3] Honorary members form another group, to which there is no numerical limit, though such appointments are rare; individuals from countries in the Commonwealth of Nations that are not headed by Elizabeth II are therefore considered foreigners, and thus are granted only honorary admissions, such as Nelson Mandela (South Africa) and Mother Teresa (India).^[1]

Upon admission into the Order of Merit, members are entitled to use the post-nominal letters OM, and are entrusted with the badge of the order, consisting of a golden crown from which is suspended a red enamelled cross, itself centred by a disk of blue enamel, surrounded by a gold laurel wreath, and bearing in gold lettering the words FOR MERIT;^[14] the insignia for the military grouping is distinguished by a pair of crossed swords behind the central disk. The ribbon of the Order of Merit is divided into two stripes of red and blue; men wear their badges on a neck ribbon, while women carry theirs on a ribbon bow pinned to the left shoulder, and aides-de-camp may wear the insignia on their aiguillettes.^[14] Since 1991, it has been required that the insignia be returned upon the recipient's death.^[15]

Current members

• Sovereign: Queen Elizabeth II

Members

1. (122)^{[n 2]} The Duke of Edinburgh, royal consort, appointed 10 June 1968^[16]
2. (145) The Reverend Owen Chadwick, theological historian, appointed 11 November 1983^[16]
3. (146) Sir Andrew Huxley, physiologist, Nobel laureate, and former President of the Royal Society, appointed 11 November 1983^[16]
4. (151) Frederick Sanger, biochemist and double Nobel laureate, appointed 11 February 1986^[16]
5. (158) The Baroness Thatcher, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, appointed 7 December 1990^[16]
6. (162) Michael Atiyah, mathematician, Fields Medalist, Abel laureate, and former President of the Royal Society, appointed 17 November 1992^[16]
7. (166) Sir Aaron Klug, biophysicist, Nobel laureate, and former President of the Royal Society, appointed 23 October 1995^[16]
8. (169) The Lord Foster of Thames Bank, architect and Pritzker laureate, appointed 25 November 1997^[16]
9. (174) Sir Anthony Caro, sculptor, appointed 9 May 2000^[16]
10. (175) Sir Roger Penrose, mathematical physicist, appointed 9 May 2000^[16]
11. (176) Sir Tom Stoppard, playwright, appointed 9 May 2000^[16]
12. (177) The Prince of Wales, heir to the throne and conservationist, appointed 27 June 2002^[16]
13. (178) The Lord May of Oxford, ecologist and former President of the Royal Society, appointed 28 October 2002^[16]
14. (179) The Lord Rothschild, philanthropist, appointed 28 October 2002^[16]
15. (180) Sir David Attenborough, broadcaster, appointed 10 June 2005^[16]
16. (181) The Lady Boothroyd, first female Speaker of the United Kingdom House of Commons, appointed 10 June 2005^[16]
17. (182) Sir Michael Howard, military historian, appointed 10 June 2005^[16]
18. (183) The Lord Eames, Anglican Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh, appointed 13 June 2007^[16]
19. (184) Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web and Director of the World Wide Web Consortium, appointed 13 June 2007^[16]
20. (185) The Lord Rees of Ludlow, Astronomer Royal and former President of the Royal Society, appointed 13 June 2007^[16]
21. (186) Jean Chrétien, former Prime Minister of Canada, appointed 13 July 2009^[17]
22. (187) Neil MacGregor, art historian and Director of the British Museum, appointed 4 November 2010^[18]
23. (188) David Hockney, artist, appointed 1 January 2012^[19]
24. (189) John Howard, former Prime Minister of Australia, appointed 1 January 2012^[19]

Honorary members

(165) Nelson Mandela, statesman and Nobel laureate, appointed 21 March 1995^[16]

Precedence in each realm

As the Order of Merit is open to the citizens of sixteen different countries, each with their own system of orders, decorations, and medals, the order's place of precedence varies from country to country. While, in the United Kingdom, the order's postnominal letters follow those of Knights and Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, membership in the Order of Merit itself gives members no place in any of the orders of precedence in the United Kingdom. However, it has been claimed by Stanley Martin, in his book The Order of Merit 1902-2002: One Hundred Years of Matchless Honour, that the Order of Merit is actually the pinnacle of the British honours system.^[20] Similarly, though it was not listed in the Canadian order of precedence for honours, decorations, and medals until December 2010,^[21] except relating to those who were appointed to the order prior to 1 June 1972,^[22]. Christopher McCreery, an expert on Canadian honours and secretary to the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, stated that the Order of Merit was the highest civilian award for merit a Canadian could receive.^[23][24]

Some orders of precedence are as follows:

Past members

Substantive members

Honorary members

Notes

Citations

References

• Martin, Stanley (2007). The Order of Merit: One Hundred Years of Matchless Honour. New York: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd.. ISBN 978-1-86064-848-9. http://books.google.com/?id=zWVscq9SdgYC&printsec=frontcover&q=. 

Garter  •  
Thistle  •  
Bath  •  
Merit  •  
St. Michael and St. George  •  
Royal Victorian  •  
Distinguished Service  •  
British Empire  •  
Crown of India  •  
Imperial Service  •  
Companions of Honour  •  
King George V  •  
Queen Elizabeth II  •  
St. John  

St. Patrick  •  
Royal Guelphic  •  
Star of India  •  
Indian Empire  •  
Indian Merit  •  
British India  •  
Burma  •  
King George IV  •  
Victoria and Albert  •  
King Edward VII

Royal Victorian Chain  •  

Baronet  •  
Knight Bachelor  •