The Royal Guelphic Order, sometimes also referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent

George IV of the United Kingdom

George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...

 (later George IV). It has not been conferred by the British Crown since the death of King William IV

William IV of the United Kingdom

William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...

 in 1837, when the personal union

Personal union

A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...

 of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....

 and Hanover

Kingdom of Hanover

The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...

 ended. It continued to be conferred by the Kingdom of Hanover

Kingdom of Hanover

The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...

 as an independent state and subsequently, after the defeat and forced dissolution of the Kingdom of Hanover by the Kingdom of Prussia, the order continued as a house order to be awarded by the Royal House of Hanover

House of Hanover

The House of Hanover is a deposed German royal dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the Kingdom of Hanover, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...

. Today, its current chancellor is the Hanoverian head of the house, Ernst August, Prince of Hanover. The honour is named after the House of Guelph to which the Hanoverian kings belonged, and its insignia were based on the white horse of that kingdom's arms.

Classes

The Order includes two Divisions, Civil and Military. It originally had three classes, but with several reorganizations since 1841, as house order today it has four classes and an additional Cross of Merit. In descending order of seniority, are:

After 1841

• Grand Cross
• Commander 1st Class
• Commander 2nd Class
• Knight
• Cross of Merit

Officers

The Order has six officers: the Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor, the Register, the King of Arms

King of Arms

King of Arms is the senior rank of an officer of arms. In many heraldic traditions, only a king of arms has the authority to grant armorial bearings. In other traditions, the power has been delegated to other officers of similar rank.-Heraldic duties:...

, the Genealogist, and the Secretary.

Officers till 1837

The first six officers were:

• Chancellor: Count
  Count
  A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
  
   Ernst Friedrich Herbert von Münster
• Vice-Chancellor: Georg Nieper
• Secretary: Ludwig Moeller
• King of Arms: Sir George Nayler
  George Nayler
  Sir George Nayler, KH was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London....
  
  
• Genealogist: August Neubourg
• Register: Sir William Woods
  William Woods (officer of arms)
  Sir William Woods was an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He was said to be an illegitimate son of the Duke of Norfolk and was appointed to the post of Clarenceux King of Arms in 1831...
  
  

Officers since 1987

• Chancellor: Ernst August, Prince of Hanover

See also

• British honours system
  British honours system
  The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals' personal bravery, achievement, or service to the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories...
  
  
• List of Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order