GARTER DAY AT WINDSOR CASTLE
Monday 19th June 2023
A service for the Most Noble Order of the Garter will be held in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, on Monday 19th June.
Members of the Royal Family will walk in procession to the chapel, and after the service, will depart by carriages for their return journey to the castle.
During the service, the Baroness Ashton of Upholland GCMG will be installed as a Lady Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, and the Lord Patten of Barnes CH will be installed as a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
The Order of the Garter is the oldest and most senior order of chivalry in Britain, established by King Edward III nearly 700 years ago. The order includes the King, who is Sovereign of the Garter, the Queen, several members of the Royal Family, and eighteen Knights or Ladies chosen in recognition of their work. Knights of the Garter are chosen personally by the sovereign to honour those who have held public office, who have contributed in a particular way to national life or who have served the sovereign personally.
Supernumerary, or ‘Stranger’ Knights, are overseas monarchs appointed to the order, and are in addition to the twenty-four knights or ladies. The King of Spain and the King of the Netherlands were both installed as members of the order at the Garter Day service in 2019.
The appointment of the Baroness Ashton of Upholland and the Lord Patten of Barnes was announced on 23rd April 2023.
The Right Honourable the Baroness Ashton of Upholland, GCMG PC (b. 1956) is a former Labour government minister and European Union diplomat, who served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department of Education and the Ministry of Justice between 1999 and 2007.
Baroness Ashton was appointed a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to international diplomacy. She has served as the order’s King of Arms and is currently Chancellor of the Order.
The Right Honourable the Lord Patten of Barnes, CH PC (b. 1944) is a former Conservative Member of Parliament who became the final Governor of Hong Kong from 1992-1997. Lord Patten was first elected as an MP in 1979 and served across government for over two decades, including as Secretary of State for the Environment and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, as well as Conservative Party chairman.
Lord Patten was Chairman of the BBC Trust between 2011 and 2014 and was appointed a Companion of Honour in 1998. He served as Chancellor of Newcastle University between 1999-2009 and was elected Chancellor of Oxford University in 2003, a post he still holds.
