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 cha ...

’s department within the Royal Household of the

Sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

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 continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It is responsible for the administration of

orders of chivalry An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is an order of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades ( 1099–1291) and paired with medieval concep ...

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 An order is a visible honour awarded by a sovereign state, monarch, dynastic house or organisation to a person, typically in recognition of individual merit, that often comes with distinctive insignia such as collars, medals, badges, and sashes ...

. 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''.) Com ...

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 A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level executi ...

to the

Lord Chamberlain's Office The Lord Chamberlain's Office is a department within the British Royal Household. It is concerned with matters such as protocol, state visits, investitures, garden parties, royal weddings and funerals. For example, in April 2005 it organised the ...

, 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, o ...

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 ...

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

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

List of Secretaries

* Sir Francis Morgan Bryant (1916–1931) *

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Philip John Hawkins Lander Row (1931–1932) *

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

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 Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

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. In ...

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 a ...

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 Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

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