Royal Warrant - Statute of the Order of the Garter Regarding Stalls [1939-03-21]

Royal Warrant - Statute of the Order of the Garter Regarding Stalls [1939-03-21]

Honors

Royal Warrant of King George VI making a Statute of the Order of the Garter declaring that Knights Companions are to be succeeded in their Stalls by the next Knight in succession and they are not to change their Stall without a special Warrant from the Sovereign.

King George VI

1939-03-21

Jason Loch

STATUTE,
21ST MARCH, 1939,
DECLARING ALL
KNIGHTS PRINCES
OF THE BLOOD
EXCEPTED TO BE
SUCCEEDED IN THEIR
STALLS BY THE NEXT
KNIGHT IN
SUCCESSION, OF
WHATEVER DEGREE,
AND NOT CHANGE
SUCH STALL
WITHOUT SPECIAL
WARRANT FROM THE
SOVEREIGN

GEORGE R.I.

WHEREAS by the Statutes of Our Most Noble Order of the Garter ordained and declared by Our Royal Predecessor King Henry the Eighth, it was declared and agreed in accordance with the ancient practice, that upon the death of any of the Knights Companions he that should come after and succeed in his place shall have the self-same stall that his predecessor had, and should not change it without special warrant or licence of the Sovereign, except Emperors, Kings and Princes, which should keep and hold their stalls after their estates and very next unto the Sovereign.

And Whereas by a Statute passed on the Second day of February, 1805, it was decreed that the Sons of the Sovereign and such Princes of the Blood as should be of the Order should be placed according to their rank in the stalls nearest to that of the Sovereign; that Emperors and Kings should be placed according to their elections and installations, in the stalls next to those of the Blood Royal; that Sovereign Princes should be placed immediately after Emperors and Kings according to the same rule of election and installation; and that all other the Knights Companions, subjects and strangers, not of the dignity above mentioned should be installed in the lowest stalls, so that they may be translated to the higher according to their seniority in the Order and the ancient practice of the same.

And Whereas it has been represented unto Us that the frequent alteration of the Banners and other Achievements of the Knights contemplated by the said Statute of the second day of February, 1805, is inconvenient and involves risk of injury to the fabric of Our Royal Chapel of St. George.

We therefore, taking the premises into Our Royal consideration, and considering that it would be expedient to revert to the ancient practice set out and decreed in the said Statutes of Our Royal Predecessor King Henry the Eighth, do hereby declare and ordain that every subject of Us or of Our Successors (other than Princes of the Blood Royal) who shall be chosen to this Degree of Honour shall be placed in the stall of his predecessor, and not in any other without the special Warrant or Licence of the Sovereign: and that the order of the stalls occupied by Knights-Subjects shall not be deemed to be that of seniority in the Order.

GIVEN at Our Court at Buckingham Palace this Twenty-first day of March, 1939, in the Second year of Our Reign.

By the Sovereign's Command,

PORTLAND,
Chancellor.

William, 6th Duke of Portland (Chancellor of the Order of the Garter)

This text is taken from a printed edition of the statutes and may not reflect the formatting of the original.