Royal Order of Victoria and Albert

Royal Order of Victoria and Albert

The four grades of the Order
Awarded by the Sovereign, on the advice of Government
Award of
Type Royal Family Order
Ribbon White
Eligibility Female members of the British Royal Family and female courtiers
Status Defunct; not awarded since the death of Queen Victoria, 1901
Sovereign Queen Elizabeth II
Post-nominals VA
Statistics
Established 10 February 1862

Ribbon of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert
Portrait of Queen Victoria at her Golden Jubilee, wearing the Sovereign's badge of the Order.
The German Empress Victoria wearing the Order, along with the Prussian Luise Order (also an order only for women)

The Royal Order of Victoria and Albert was a British Royal Family Order instituted on 10 February 1862[1] by Queen Victoria, and enlarged on 10 October 1864, 15 November 1865, and 15 March 1880. No awards were made after the death of Queen Victoria.

The order had four classes and was only granted to female members of the British Royal Family and female courtiers. For the first three classes, the badge consisted of a medallion of Queen Victoria and Albert, The Prince Consort, differing in the width and jewelling of the border as the classes descend, whilst the fourth substitutes a jewelled cipher. All four were surmounted by a crown, which was attached to a bow of white silk moiré ribbon. The honour conferred no rank or title upon the recipient, but recipients were entitled to use the post-nominal letters "VA".

The last holder of the Order, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, died in 1981. Like other British Orders which have fallen into disuse, it has never been formally abolished. Each British monarch since Victoria has become Sovereign of the Order upon accession to the throne. The current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, thus has been Sovereign of the Order since 1952.

Recipients

First Class

British Royal Family

Foreign

Second Class

British Royal Family

Foreign

Household

Third Class

Fourth Class

Sources

References

  1. ↑ British Imperial Calendar, 1900
  2. ↑ "Obituary". Obituary. The Times (30343). London. 4 November 1881. col F, p. 16.
  3. ↑ "The Dowager Lady Churchill". Obituaries. The Times (36335). London. 26 December 1900. col E, p. 3.
  4. ↑ "Court Circular". Court and Social. The Times (32607). London. 28 January 1889. col F, p. 9.
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