Tales of the Royal Family Order Quiz

Answer: Female members of the Royal Family.

Men of the Royal Family generally wear commemorative medals and ones that were presented for service to country; female members do not. The Royal Family Order was created so that females had some sort of decoration to wear during state occasions. It is considered to be more of a personal memento than a state decoration, but today the Order is only given to a female member of the royal family to be worn on formal occasions.

The girls shown in the 1849 picture are the daughters of Victoria - Princesses Alice, Victoria, Louise, and Helena.

Answer: George IV

Prior to 1820, both ladies and gentlemen at court wore the monarch's picture in a jeweled frame as a badge. However, during the regency and after the coronation of George IV, the formal practice of presenting the Royal Family Order began. Quite ornate in appearance, George IV's portrait, a miniature of the one in the picture, was surrounded by diamond acorns and oak leaves. Since its formalization during the reign of George IV, the only monarchs not to present a Royal Family Order were William IV and Edward VIII.

Answer: Victoria

Actually, during Victoria's reign, the Royal Family Order was called the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert, and was quite complicated with four different levels given to both female family members and courtiers, a practice never repeated. Both of their portraits were shown in profile on a cameo, as seen in the picture.

The last member of the Order, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, passed away in 1981. Although never formally abolished, the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert ceased to exist when Victoria passed away; each British monarch becomes Sovereign of the Order upon accession to the throne.

Answer: Yes

Queen Elizabeth II wears two Royal Family Orders, one from her father, which she wore, according to "The Official Website of the British Monarchy", to his coronation in 1937, and one from her grandfather, George V. When wearing more than one of the Royal Family Orders, the most recent one received is on top.

Mary of Teck, the wife of George V, and the grandmother of Elizabeth II, is seen in the portrait. She was the Duchess of York when she received the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert, and subsequently was given a Royal Family Order from Edward VII, George V, George VI, and Elizabeth II.

Answer: On the left shoulder.

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, wore two Royal Family Orders - one from her husband, George VI, and one from her daughter, Elizabeth II. The Royal Family Order is worn on the left shoulder during formal occasions when other decorations may also be worn. If a sash is worn over the left shoulder, as in the picture, the Order is pinned to the sash.

Answer: There are no written criteria.

There are no written criteria for the honor; it appears that it is given to senior female members of the Royal Family who undertake royal engagements. Princess Diana began wearing her Order within a year of her marriage; there are several photographs taken of her wearing it during the tour of Australia in 1983. The Countess of Wessex, who regularly represents the Queen at foreign royal weddings, received the Order approximately five years after her marriage; the Duchess of Cornwall began to display her Order about two years after her marriage to the Prince of Wales.

Alexandra of Denmark, seen in the portrait, was the wife of Edward VII. She was a Member First Class of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert.

Answer: The Royal Cypher

In modern heraldry, the Royal Cypher is usually the initials of the reigning monarch, written in monogram style. Many times the initials are topped by a crown. The Royal Cypher of the UK represents "Elizabeth II Regina". It is believed that the use of the Royal Cypher in the UK dates back to the Tudor dynasty. Many other monarchies also make use of a Royal Cypher.

Answer: It is chosen by the Sovereign.

While George IV, Victoria, and George V selected a white silk bow for the Royal Family Order, Edward VII selected one which was multicolored in gold, red, and blue. The color of the ribbon for the Royal Family Order of George VI was rose pink, and the one selected by Elizabeth II is chartreuse yellow.

Current members of Elizabeth II's Royal Family Order include her daughter, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, two daughter-in-laws, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, a granddaughter-in-law, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, a cousin, Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy, and two cousins-in-law, Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester, and Katharine, Duchess of Kent.

Answer: False

Receipt of the Royal Family Order is a rarely publicized event; the only way to know that the Royal Family Order has been awarded is to see it being worn. An August 29, 2015, article in "The Daily Mail", has suggested that Duchess Kate may be seen wearing the Royal Family Order at a state dinner in October!

Louise of Prussia, Grand Duchess of Baden was one of the foreign recipients of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert First Class. She was the only daughter of German Emperor Wilhelm I.

Answer: Sweden

The Royal Order of the Seraphim was created by King Frederick I of Sweden in 1748; Oscar II is said to have been the first to present the Order. At the time the miniature portrait was surrounded by diamonds, but was not attached to a blue ribbon as it is today, as seen in the portrait of Sophia of Nassau. Norway, Denmark, and Tonga also present Royal Family Orders.