The Royal Order of Victoria and Albert was a British Royal Family Order

Royal Family Order

The Royal Family Order is an order awarded by the sovereign of the United Kingdom to female members of the royal family . The order is a personal memento rather than a state decoration...

 instituted in on 10 February 1862 by Queen Victoria, and enlarged on 10 October 1864; 15 November 1865; and 15 March 1880. No awards were made after the death of Queen Victoria.

The order had four classes and was only granted to female members of the British Royal Family

British Royal Family

The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...

 and female courtier

Courtier

A courtier is a person who is often in attendance at the court of a king or other royal personage. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...

s. For the first three classes, the badge consisted of a medallion of Queen Victoria and Albert, The Prince Consort, differing in the width and jewelling of the border as the classes descend, whilst the fourth substitutes a jewelled cipher. All four were surmounted by a crown, which was attached to a bow of white silk

Silk

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...

 moiré ribbon. The honour conferred no rank or title upon the recipient, but recipients were entitled to use the post-nominal letters

Post-nominal letters

Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles or designatory letters, are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, educational degree, accreditation, office, or honour. An individual may use several different sets of...

 "VA".

The last holder of the Order, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone

Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone

Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone was a member of the British Royal Family. She was the longest-lived Princess of the Blood Royal of the British Royal Family and the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria...

, died in 1981. Like other British Orders which have fallen into disuse, it has never been formally abolished. Every British Sovereign since Victoria has become Sovereign of the Order upon their accession to the throne. The Current Sovereign Elizabeth II has been Sovereign of the Order since 1952.

British Royal Family

• HI&RM The German Empress
  Victoria, Princess Royal
  The Princess Victoria, Princess Royal was the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert. She was created Princess Royal of the United Kingdom in 1841. She became German Empress and Queen of Prussia by marriage to German Emperor Frederick III...
  
   (formerly The Princess Royal)
• HRH Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein
  Princess Helena of the United Kingdom
  Princess Helena was a member of the British Royal Family, the third daughter and fifth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert....
  
   (formerly The Princess Helena)
• HRH The Princess of Wales
  Alexandra of Denmark
  Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
  
   (formerly Princess Alexandra of Denmark)
• HRH The Princess Louise, Marchioness of Lorne
  Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll
  The Princess Louise was a member of the British Royal Family, the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and her husband, Albert, Prince Consort.Louise's early life was spent moving between the various royal residences in the...
  
  
• HRH The Princess Beatrice
  Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom
  The Princess Beatrice was a member of the British Royal Family. She was the fifth daughter and youngest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Juan Carlos, King of Spain, is her great-grandson...
  
   (later Princess Henry of Battenberg)
• HI&RH The Duchess of Edinburgh (née Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia)
• 1879: HRH The Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn (née Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia)
• HRH The Duchess of Albany (née Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont)
• 1885: HRH Princess Louise of Wales
  Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife
  The Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife was the third child and the eldest daughter of King Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark...
  
   (later Duchess of Fife)
• HRH Princess Victoria of Wales
• HRH Princess Maud of Wales
  Maud of Wales
  Princess Maud of Wales was Queen of Norway as spouse of King Haakon VII. She was a member of the British Royal Family as the youngest daughter of Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark and granddaughter of Queen Victoria and also of Christian IX of Denmark. She was the younger sister of George V...
  
  
• HRH The Duchess of York
  Mary of Teck
  Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
  
   (née Princess Mary of Teck)

Foreign

• HM The Queen of Denmark
  Louise of Hesse-Kassel
  Louise of Hesse was a German Princess and the queen consort to King Christian IX of Denmark.-Early Life and Ancestry:...
  
   (Louise)
• HM The Queen of Hanover
  Marie of Saxe-Altenburg
  Princess Marie of Saxe-Altenburg was Queen of Hanover and the consort of George V, a grandson of George III of the United Kingdom and Queen Charlotte.-Early life:Marie was born at Hildburghausen, as Princess Marie of...
  
  
• 1878: HM The Queen of the Belgians
  Marie Henriette of Austria
  Marie Henriette of Austria was the queen consort of King Leopold II of Belgium.-Family:...
  
   (Marie Henriette) (on the occasion of the Silver wedding of the King and Queen)
• HGDH Princess Louis of Battenberg (Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine)
• HM The Queen Regent of Spain
  Maria Christina of Austria
  Maria Christina of Austria was Queen consort of Spain as the second wife of King Alfonso XII of Spain...
  
   (Maria Christina)

• HRH The Grand Duchess of Baden
  Princess Louise of Prussia
  Princess Louise of Prussia was the second child and only daughter of German Emperor Wilhelm I and Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. She was the younger sister of Frederick III of Germany and aunt of Wilhelm II of Germany...
  
  
• HI&RM The German Empress
• HM The Queen of Romania
  Elisabeth of Wied
  -Titles and styles:*29 December 1843 – 15 November 1869: Her Serene Highness Princess Elisabeth of Wied*15 November 1869 – 26 March 1881: Her Royal Highness The Princess of Romania...
  
   (Elisabeta)
• 1896: HIM The Empress of Russia
• 1898: HM The Queen of the Netherlands
  Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
  Wilhelmina was Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948. She ruled the Netherlands for fifty-eight years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World War I and World War II, the economic crisis of 1933, and the decline of the Netherlands as a major colonial...
  
  

British Royal Family

• HRH Princess Marie of Edinburgh
  Marie of Romania
  Marie of Romania was Queen consort of Romania from 1914 to 1927, as the wife of Ferdinand I of Romania.-Early life:...
  
   (Princess Ferdinand of Romania)
• HRH Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh
• HRH Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh
• HRH Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh
• HRH Princess Margaret of Connaught
  Princess Margaret of Connaught
  Princess Margaret of Connaught was the daughter of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, third son of Queen Victoria, and his wife, Princess Luise Margarete of Prussia...
  
  
• HRH Princess Alice of Albany
  Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone
  Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone was a member of the British Royal Family. She was the longest-lived Princess of the Blood Royal of the British Royal Family and the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria...
  
  

Foreign

• HIH Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia (formerly Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine)
• HRH The Hereditary Princess of Saxe-Meinigen
  Princess Charlotte of Prussia
  Princess Charlotte of Prussia , Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen was the second child born to Prince Friedrich of Prussia and Princess Victoria...
  
   (formerly Princess Charlotte of Prussia)
• HRH Princess Henry of Prussia
  Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine
  Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine was the third child and third daughter of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom and Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine. Her maternal grandparents were Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert...
  
   (formerly Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine)
• HRH Princess Adolphe of Schaumburg-Lippe
  Princess Viktoria of Prussia
  Princess Viktoria of Prussia was the second daughter of Frederick III, German Emperor and his wife Victoria, Princess Royal, a daughter of Queen Victoria...
  
   (formerly Princess Viktoria of Prussia)
• HGDH The Princess of Leiningen
  Princess Marie Amelie of Baden
  Marie Amelie of Baden , was the youngest daughter of Karl, Grand Duke of Baden and Stephanie de Beauharnais, the adopted daughter of Napoleon I of France....
  
  
• HH Princess Aribert of Anhalt
  Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein
  -Titles:*1872–1891: Her Highness Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein*1891–1900: Her Highness Princess Aribert of Anhalt*1900–1917: Her Highness Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein...
  
   (formerly Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein)
• HRH The Crown Princess of Greece
  Sophia of Prussia
  Princess Sophie of Prussia was Queen of the Hellenes as the wife of King Constantine I.-Princess of Prussia:...
  
   (formerly Princess Sophie of Prussia)
• HRH Princess Frederick Charles of Hesse
  Princess Margaret of Prussia
  Princess Margaret of Prussia was a daughter of Frederick III, German Emperor and Victoria, Princess Royal. She married Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse. In 1926 they became Landgrave and Landgravine of Hesse...
  
   (formerly Princess Margaret of Prussia
• HH Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein
  Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein
  -Titles:*1870–1917: Her Highness Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein*1917–1948: Her Highness Princess Helena Victoria-Honours:British honours*VA: Lady of the Order of Victoria and Albert...
  
  
• HSH Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (later Queen of Spain)

Household

• The Countess of Mount Edgcumbe (Lady of the Bedchamber)
• The Lady Churchill
  Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill
  Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill, VA , born Lady Jane Conyngham, daughter of the Earl of Mount Charles , married, on 19 May 1849, the Francis Spencer, 2nd Baron Churchill, at Bifrons House, Kent.From 1854 to her death, Lady Churchill was a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria...
  
   (Lady of the Bedchamber)

Third Class

• The Dowager Duchess of Wellington
  Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington
  Elizabeth, Duchess of Wellington was born Lady Elizabeth Hay, a daughter of the eighth Marquess of Tweeddale. One of her brothers was the ornithologist Viscount Walden, and another the Admiral of the Fleet Lord John Hay...
  
  
• The Dowager Lady Churchill
  Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill
  Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill, VA , born Lady Jane Conyngham, daughter of the Earl of Mount Charles , married, on 19 May 1849, the Francis Spencer, 2nd Baron Churchill, at Bifrons House, Kent.From 1854 to her death, Lady Churchill was a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria...
  
  
• The Dowager Duchess of Roxburghe
• The Lady Waterpark
• The Dowager Duchess of Atholl
  Anne Murray, Duchess of Atholl
  Anne Murray, Duchess of Atholl , born Anne Home-Drummond and known as The Lady Glenlyon between 1839 and 1846, as The Duchess of Atholl between 1846 and 1864 and as The Dowager Duchess of Atholl between 1864 and 1897, was a Scottish courtier and close friend of Queen Victoria.Murray was born at...
  
  
• The Viscountess Clifden
• The Dowager Countess of Mayo
• The Dowager Countess of Erroll
• The Lady Abercromby
• The Lady Portman
  Emma Portman, Viscountess Portman
  Emma Lascelles Portman, Viscountess Portman , was an English aristocrat. She was the daughter of Henry Lascelles, 2nd Earl of Harewood and Henrietta Sebright....
  
  
• Caroline Augusta, The Countess of Mount-Edgcumbe
• Frances, Countess of Gainsborough
• The Dowager Lady Southampton
• The Dowager Duchess of Buccleuch
  Charlotte Montagu-Douglas-Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch
  Charlotte Anne, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry VA was born Lady Charlotte Anne Thynne, daughter of the 2nd Marquess of Bath. On the 13 March 1829 she was married at St George's, Hanover Square to the Duke of Buccleuch...
  
  
• The Viscountess Jocelyn
  Frances Jocelyn, Viscountess Jocelyn
  Frances Elizabeth Jocelyn, Viscountess Jocelyn, VA was a British courtier and amateur photographer.The former Lady Frances Elizabeth Cowper was the daughter of Peter Cowper, 5th Earl Cowper and his wife, Emily...
  
  
• 1880: Albertha, Duchess of Marlborough
  Albertha Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
  Lady Albertha Frances Anne Hamilton Spencer-Churchill, VA , was an English aristocrat. She was the daughter of James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn and Lady Louisa Jane Russell....
  
   ("in recognition of her unremitting and invaluable exertions in mitigating the misery and distress in Ireland")
• The Dowager Duchess of Bedford
  Elizabeth Russell, Duchess of Bedford
  Elizabeth, Duchess of Bedford was born as Elizabeth Sackville-West, daughter of the 5th Earl De La Warr and the Countess De La Warr....
  
  
• 1881: The Dowager Duchess of Abercorn
• The Duchess of Roxburghe
  Anne Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe
  Anne Emily Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe VA OBE was born Anne Emily Spencer-Churchill, and was the daughter of the seventh Duke of Marlborough, who served in Conservative governments as Lord President of the Council and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland...
  
  
• 1885: The Countess Spencer
  Charlotte Spencer, Countess Spencer
  Charlotte Frances Frederica Spencer VA was a daughter of Frederick Charles William Seymour and Lady Augusta Hervey ....
  
  
• The Duchess of Buccleuch & Queensberry
  Louisa Montagu-Douglas-Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch
  Lady Louisa Jane Hamilton was the daughter of James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn. In 1884, she became the Duchess of Buccleuch and Duchess of Queensberry, the wife of William Henry Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 6th Duke of Buccleuch & 8th Duke of Queensberry...
  
  
• The Lady Ampthill
  Emily Russell, Baroness Ampthill
  Emily Theresa Russell, Baroness Ampthill, VA was a British courtier.Born Lady Emily Theresa Villiers, she was the third daughter of George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon and his wife, Katherine...
  
  
• 1889: The Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava
  Hariot Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava
  Hariot Georgina Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava VA CI DBE was a British peeress, known for her success in the role of "diplomatic wife", and for leading an initiative to improve medical care for women in British India.-Biography:Born Hariot Georgina Rowan-Hamilton, she...
  
  
• Viscountess Downe
• The Countess of Antrim
  Louisa McDonnell, Countess of Antrim
  Louisa Jane McDonnell, née Grey VA , was the daughter of Hon. Charles Grey and his wife, Caroline Eliza née Farquhar....
  
  
• 1892: The Marchioness of Salisbury
  Georgina Gascoyne-Cecil, Marchioness of Salisbury
  Georgina Charlotte Gascoyne-Cecil, Marchioness of Salisbury, VA, CI was the wife of British statesman, Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury....
  
  
• The Marchioness of Lansdowne
  Maud Petty-FitzMaurice, Marchioness of Lansdowne
  Maud Evelyn Petty-Fitzmaurice, Marchioness of Lansdowne, GBE, CH, VA, CI , née Lady Maud Evelyn Hamilton, was a British courtier. She vice-regal spouce of Canada while her husband was Governor General of Canada from 1883-1888...
  
  
• The Countess of Lytton
• Viscountess Chewton
• The Countess Cadogan

Fourth Class

• Hon Lady Hamilton-Gordon
• Edith Codrington, Lady Codrington
• Adelaide Biddulph, Baroness Biddulph
• Lady Elizabeth Phillipa Biddulph
• Hon Flora C.I. Macdonald
• Hon Mrs. Ferguson
• Hon Horatia C. F. Stopford
• Hon Emily Sarah Cathcart
• Lady Cust
• Hon Mrs Magdalen Wellesley
• Hon Lady Ponsonby
• Hon Ina Erskine McNeill (Duchess of Argyll)
• 1889: Lady Geraldine Somerset ("as a mark of appreciation of her long and devoted service to the Duchess of Cambridge")
• Hon Harriet Lepel Phipps
  Harriet Phipps
  Harriet Lepel Phipps, VA was a confidential attendant of Queen Victoria.Harriet was the younger daughter of Sir Charles Beaumont Phipps, a courtier and confidant of the Queen, as Keeper of the Privy Purse...
  
  
• Hon Caroline Fanny Cavendish
• Mrs. Georgina Townshend Wilson
• Lady Cowell
• Hon Mrs. Mallett
• Hon. Mrs. Grant
• Hon. Ethel H. M. Cadogan
• Mrs. Helen Haughton

Sources

• Whitaker's Almanack
  Whitaker's Almanack
  Whitaker's Almanack is a reference book, published annually in the United Kingdom. The book was originally published by J Whitaker & Sons from 1868 to 1997, then by The Stationery Office, from 2003 to 2010 by A & C Black and from 2011 by .-Content:...
  
  , 1893
• British Imperial Calendar, 1900, 1902
• The Times
  The Times
  The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...