ORDER OF THE THISTLE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18458, 23 July 1923, Page 12

ORDER OF THE THISTLE.

i./,;' The Duke. of York, on., his .marriage, '.'! was made ; a Knight of'the Most Ancient "; and Most Noble, Order'of the Thistle. It' 1 legend he correct, the Order of the Thistle is considerably older than that:' of" the f Garter, which takes precedence of it. At any rate;- the supposed origin is I recog- ' 2; nised in its titular description as: "The Most Ancient and Most Nobis Order of vjjsg the '~ Thistle." According >to • the ■ legend, ZZih it: was founded ". as long .ago, as A.D. 787 '.: ; by the Scottish King Achaius. • The ~ .authentic history begins in 1687, when it , was either revived or instituted by James 11. of England, who was also James VII. ;, of Scotland. It then consisted of the ;: Sovereign and eight knights, and its home was in the now ruined chapel of; Holyrood. When the monarch war. forced to .flee the Ordisr lapsed, but it was re-estab- ; ,'r lished by Queen Anne in 1703. In 1827 !p a statute was passed for the Order to '.£■ consist of the Sovereign and •16 knights. jgj King George, .then Duke of York,; was ;;■--,• made a Knight of the Thistle by Queen ';"> Victoria on the eve of his wedding, and <-> it may :be more than a coincidence that .Yl- the Duke Of York has been honoured at ;'- the; same interesting point in his career. .';; The last person to receive the Order was j; the Marquis ■of Bute, and in that samey- year/1922, the Prince of Wales was also I h '*, 3 ■ admitted Val Knight. The doyen of *■ the "%; Order is • the Duke of Connaught, upon I whom •■ it v was conferred in 1869. ! The 'f; insignia is singularly beautiful, the badge consisting .of a figure of St. Andrew, the j • patron saint of ■Scotland, of ' enamelled * ; i gold, with his green gown and purple *'. surcoat, bearing a cross, from which ' '. radiates a golden glory.