I am therefore repeating an exercise I did several years ago, analyzing who might be candidates and why.
There are some offices in which holders have traditionally been appointed to the Garter or Thistle upon leaving office, though the tradition has been somewhat less obvious with appointments in recent years:
1. Prime Minister
Most Prime Ministers have been appointed to the Garter, but in recent decades not until several years after leaving office. With the appointment of Tony Blair earlier this year, I suspect there will be some time until the next appointment. Gordon Brown might instead be offered the Thistle, as he is also prominent in Scottish politics these days. David Cameron will probably not be a candidate for another couple of years.
2. Lord Chancellor and senior legal lords
Many Lord Chancellors in recent decades were appointed to the Garter or the Thistle. After the 2005 Constitutional Reform Act, however, the Lord Chancellor is no longer the highest legal office in the country, which means it is more like other ministerial appointments and no longer likely that holders of this office will be considered for the Garter or Thistle.
The senior Law Lord was not traditionally a position which was honoured with a Garter, but the first two Lords to hold this position after the Act of 2005 have both received it. The office changed in 2008 with the establishment of a Supreme Court, when the senior lord became President of this court. This was Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, who is among the current Knights. The following two presidents, Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury (2012-2017) and Lady Hale of Richmond (2017-2020) are both candidates for the Garter.
3. Governor of the Bank of England
Four of the last five Governors of the Bank of England were appointed to the Garter after retirement, as were several previous governors. Only Lord King of Lothbury is now alive, and he has the Garter since 2014. His successor Mark Carney is Canadian and thus not eligible for the order. The current governor has not been in the job long enough to be considered this time.
4. Chief of Defence Staff
Several former Chiefs of Defence Staff have received the Garter, though not all. It is hard to guess which former Chiefs (if any) may be appointed, though the Queen appears to appoint at least one from each branch. The position rotates between the three branches (army, navy, air force), and there are currently three former Chiefs among the 22 Companions of the Garter - one army general, one navy Admiral and one Air Force Air Marshal. The Queen might want to appoint another former Chief, and if so Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank, who has also been Colonel of the Life Guards and Gold-Stick, is a possible candidate.
5. Secretary-General of NATO
All three British Secretaries-General of the NATO have received the Garter or Thistle.
6. Provost of Eton
The last two Provosts of Eton have received the Garter and Thistle respectively, and the present Provost - Lord William of North Hill - could be a candidate, but most likely not until he retires from the position.
6. Great Officers of State
The office of Earl Marshal is hereditary for the Dukes of Norfolk, and most previous dukes have received the Garter. The current Duke succeeded in 2002, and is a candidate for the Garter, but he has yet to receive the GCVO.
The Lord Great Chamberlain usually receive the GCVO only, not the Garter.
7. Courtiers
Lord Stewards of the Household all receive the Garter or the Thistle. The current Steward is the Earl of Dalhousie, who is Scottish and is likely to receive the Thistle.
Most Lord Chamberlains have received the Garter of Thistle. Of the previous Chamberlains now alive, only Lord Camoys did not receive either order, and he resigned after only two years. Earl Peel stepped down from the position last year, and is a likely candidate for the Garter.
Recent Masters of the Horse have not received the Garter or Thistle.
8. Lord Lieutenants
The Chairman of the Lord Lieutenants Association traditionally receive the Garter (Lord Shuttleworth, Sir Thomas Dunne and the late Lord Kingsdown are the three most recent Chairmen), and all but one previous Lord Lieutenant of Greater London have received the order. Other Lord Lieutenants traditionally receive the CVO or KCVO after a number of years of service, but the Queen has appointed three of them as Garter Knights/Ladies in recent years. There are no obvious candidates for the Garter among Lord Lieutenants this year.
9. Others
Senior bureaucrats, leading businessmen, philanthropists, academics or senior nobles have often been among the recipients. Such awards are difficult to predict. A former Head of the MI5 was appointed in 2014, but her predecessors had not received the Garter. Chairmen of the Board of BBC or British Petroleum (now BP) have also in previous years received the order, but this is less likely now. Others who have received the Garter are a previous Cabinet Secretary (Lord Butler) and a previous Chief Scout (Sir William Gladstone), both appear to have been a one time for the person not the holder of an office.
There appears to be a variety to the appointments, and the Queen has in recent years made certain there are people born in Wales or Northern Ireland on the list. The only Welshman now is Lord Morris of Aberavon, who at 90 is also the oldest knight companion. Another Welshman is thus likely, but I cannot see any obvious names among recent Lord Lieutenants of Welsh counties or recent Welsh Secretaries. Two Labour politicians could be candidates: The previous First Minister Carwyn Jones (2009-2018) could be a candidate, though he appears to have declined other honours. Another former First Minister Alun Michael (1999-2000) served only briefly, but has had several ministerial positions and more importantly has been Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales since 2012.
To conclude – I suspect the former Lord Chamberlain (Earl Peel) and one of the former Presidents of the Supreme Court (Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury or Lady Hale of Richmond) are strong candidates this year. The last may however be controversial in government circles. Among the military men, Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank is a candidate. I also suspect there may be a Welsh appointment, though I am unable to guess who that could be. There is now only one Duke among the Knights, so the Duke of Norfolk might be another candidate.
An outsider (who I have guessed wrongly before) is Lord Patton of Barns (Chris Patten). He is a former Governor of Hong Kong, EU Commissioner and Chairman of the BBC Trust, and is currently Chancellor of the University of Oxford - all positions which could merit an award.
723
Message Thread
« Back to index