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    Re: Royal Order of Victoria and Albert - part 2 Archived Message

    Posted by karenl on February 13, 2012, 11:38 pm, in reply to "Royal Order of Victoria and Albert - part 2"


    Nellie, thank you so much for posting photos and info about the badges. I know you've posted these images before, but I always love to see and read about them.

    --Previous Message--
    :
    : From A&M -
    :
    : The Royal Order of Victoria and Albert was
    : formally instituted by Queen Victoria on 10
    : February 1862 - her twenty-second wedding
    : anniversary - as an order for female members
    : of the royal family and ladies of the court
    : in memory of the late Prince Consort. The
    : Order was initially founded in one class. A
    : second class was added in October 1864 and a
    : third in November 1865. The insignia of the
    : first two classes incorporated a cameo (in
    : onyx for the first class and shell for the
    : second) showing the conjoined profile heads
    : of the Queen and Prince Albert, derived from
    : William Wyon's Great Exhibition Medal of
    : 1851. All badge cameos except one followed
    : the design of the medal with the Queen's
    : head in front of the Prince's. The cameo in
    : the Queen's badge had the images reversed.
    : In 1881 a new second class was instituted
    : which required the original second and third
    : classes to be demoted to third and fourth
    : classes. This new class, also incorporating
    : an onyx cameo in the badge, was primarily
    : bestowed on the Queen's granddaughters. The
    : Order lapsed in 1901.
    :
    : Before the formal creation of the Order, two
    : badges identical to those which were later
    : to be used in the first class were given by
    : the Queen and Prince Albert to their eldest
    : daughters, Victoria. the Princess Royal, and
    : Princess Alice, on the occasion of their
    : confirmations in 1856 and 1859 respectively.
    : As such, they were the first badges in the
    : new royal family order and followed the
    : example of George IV in the establishment of
    : an order for ladies of the royal family.
    : These early examples of the family Order
    : were subsumed within the new Order, which
    : had a two-fold role - for the royal family
    : and for service to the Queen.
    :
    : In all. twenty-four appointments were made
    : to the first class, seventeen in the second
    : class and thirty-four in the third class.
    : Over the period twenty members of the Order
    : died or were promoted in the Order, and
    : where possible their badges were returned
    : and in some instances reissued.
    :
    : VA9402 A&M p243 n316
    : Queen Alexandra's badge displayed on its
    : original white moiré ribbon.
    : Queen Victoria presented the badge to
    : Princess Alexandra of Denmark on the day
    : before her wedding to the Prince of Wales, 9
    : March 1863. The Princess subsequently wore
    : it on her wedding dress. [A&M]
    :
    :
    :
    : A&M p247 n315
    :
    : A&M p248 n317
    :
    : A&M p249 n319
    :
    :
    :

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