Knight Bachelor
This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2016) |
Knight Bachelor | |
---|---|
Awarded by Monarch of the United Kingdom | |
Awarded for | Public service |
Status | Currently constituted |
Sovereign | Charles III |
Knight Principal | Sir Gary Hickinbottom |
Ribbon bar of the Knight Bachelor Medal |
The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system.[1] Knights Bachelor are the most ancient sort of British knight[2] (the rank existed during the 13th-century reign of King Henry III), but Knights Bachelor rank below knights of chivalric orders. A man who is knighted is formally addressed as "Sir [First Name] [Surname]" or "Sir [First Name]" and his wife as "Lady [Surname]".
Criteria
Knighthood is usually conferred for public service; amongst its recipients are all male judges of
Honorifics and post-nominal letters
Knights Bachelor may prefix "
Insignia
Until 1926, Knights Bachelor had no insignia which they could wear, but in that year
Upon an oval medallion of
rowelsupwards, the whole set about with the sword belt, all gilt.
In 1974,
Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor
The Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor[7] was founded for the maintenance and consolidation of the Dignity of Knights Bachelor in 1908, and obtained official recognition from the Sovereign in 1912. The Society keeps records of all Knights Bachelor, in their interest.
Equivalence
There is no female counterpart to Knight Bachelor. The lowest knightly honour that can be conferred upon a woman is Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE), which is one rank higher than Knight Bachelor (being the female equivalent of KBE or Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, which is the next male knightly rank above Knight Bachelor).
Only citizens of Commonwealth realms can be created Knights Bachelor; people of other nationalities are generally made honorary KBEs.[8]
See also
- Knight banneret
- Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood
- British honours system § Knighthood
- Lists of knights bachelor
Notes
- ^ a b "The British Honours System". www.churchill-society-london.org.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
- ^ Neave, F.G.; Turner, Grange (1930). Mozley & Whiteley's Law Dictionary (5th ed.). London: Butterworth & Co. p. 183.
- ^ "Form of address". Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- ^ "Knight Bachelor". Forms of address. Debrett's. Archived from the original on 5 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- ^ "Orders of Chivalry". British Government. Archived from the original on 19 August 2007. Retrieved 30 August 2007.
- ^ ISBN 9781999767006.
- ^ "Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
- ^ "Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor". www.iskb.co.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
References
- Insignia of knights bachelor—Website of the Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor
- The UK Honours System—Website UK Government
- Debrett's
External links
- Media related to Knights Bachelor at Wikimedia Commons