The Monarchy Today > Queen and public > Honours

Honours

The Queen presents the Order of Merit to Mother Teresa

The Queen presents the Order of Merit to Mother Teresa in 1983
© Press Association

ORDER OF MERIT

The Order of Merit is a special honour awarded to individuals of great achievement in the fields of the arts, learning, literature and science.

Created by King Edward VII in 1902, the Order of Merit is in the sole gift of the Sovereign.

The Order is restricted to 24 members as well as additional foreign recipients.

Past British holders of the Order have included: Florence Nightingale and Lord Lister (medicine); artists Alma Tadema, Holman Hunt, Augustus John and Graham Sutherland; sculptor Henry Moore; composers Sir Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Benjamin Britten; writers Thomas Hardy, James Barrie, T. S. Eliot, E. M. Forster, Graham Greene and Ted Hughes; former Prime Ministers Sir Winston Churchill and Earl Attlee; General Baden-Powell (founder of the Scout Movement); Field Marshal Haig and Kitchener, and Admirals Jellicoe, Beatty and Earl Mountbatten of Burma; aircraft designer Sir Geoffrey de Havilland; and the late Cardinal Basil Hume.

There are very few foreign recipients, although those given the Order have included Dr Albert Schweitzer, General Eisenhower, Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Nelson Mandela.

Queen and Public
	Honours The Queen presents the Order of Merit to Mother Teresa The Queen presents the Order of Merit to Mother Teresa in 1983 © Press Association ORDER OF MERIT The Order of Merit is a special honour awarded to individuals of great achievement in the fields of the arts, learning, literature and science. Created by King Edward VII in 1902, the Order of Merit is in the sole gift of the Sovereign. The Order is restricted to 24 members as well as additional foreign recipients. Past British holders of the Order have included: Florence Nightingale and Lord Lister (medicine); artists Alma Tadema, Holman Hunt, Augustus John and Graham Sutherland; sculptor Henry Moore; composers Sir Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Benjamin Britten; writers Thomas Hardy, James Barrie, T. S. Eliot, E. M. Forster, Graham Greene and Ted Hughes; former Prime Ministers Sir Winston Churchill and Earl Attlee; General Baden-Powell (founder of the Scout Movement); Field Marshal Haig and Kitchener, and Admirals Jellicoe, Beatty and Earl Mountbatten of Burma; aircraft designer Sir Geoffrey de Havilland; and the late Cardinal Basil Hume. There are very few foreign recipients, although those given the Order have included Dr Albert Schweitzer, General Eisenhower, Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Nelson Mandela.
How the Monarchy works? Queen and State Queen and Commonwealth Ceremony and symbol Royal finances The Royal Household	Fact file Motto: For merit Chapel: Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace Ranks: Member Post-nominals: OM Founded: 1902 There is also a military division included in the 24. Although the last member of this was Lord Mountbatten, the military division has never been abolished. The badge is an eight-pointed cross of red and blue enamel surmounted by the imperial crown; in the centre, upon blue enamel and surrounded by a laurel wreath, are the words in gold lettering 'For Merit'. The insignia for the military division (when used) is differentiated by crossed swords in the centre of the badge. Next section Have you seen... Edward VII Profile of the founder of the Order of Merit The Chapels Royal Information about the chapel of the Order of Merit SUGGESTED LINKS UK Honours System