Find your ancestors in Britain, Knights of the Realm & Commonwealth Chronologies

14th century knights chronology

Monarchs

• 7 July 1307 – Edward I died and was succeeded by Edward II
• 20 January 1327 – Edward II died and was succeeded by Edward III
• 21 June 1377 – Edward III died and was succeeded by Richard II
• 29 September 1399 – Richard II died and was succeeded by Henry IV

Events

• 1300 - Siege of Caerlaverock, 102 knights made
• 22 May 1306 - Edward I created his son Prince of Wales and then made 267 KBs
• 1346/1347 - At the Siege of Calais, 118 knights made
• 13 April 1348 - Most Nobel Order of the Garter founded with 25 knights
• 1377 - Nine Kbs made at the coronation of Richard II

15th century knights chronology

Monarchs

• 21 March 1413 – Henry IV died and was succeeded by Henry V
• 1 September 1422 – Henry V died and was succeeded by Henry VI
• 4 March 1461 – Henry VI died and was succeeded by Edward IV
• 9 April 1483 – Edward IV died and was succeeded by Richard III
• 22 August 1485 – Richard III died at the Battle of Bosworth Field and was succeeded by Henry VII

Events

• 19 February 1461 - Four knights dubbed after the Battle of St Albans
• 29 March 1461 - Six knights dubbed after the Battle of Towton
• 28 June 1461 - Sixteen Knights of the Bath (KB) created at the coronation of Edward IV at the Tower of London
• 3 May 1471 - Many knights made on the Field of Grafton after the Battle of Tewkesbury
• 20 May 1471 - Many knights and bannerets made in London on the King's return from the Battle of Tewkesbury
• 18 August 1477 - Twenty-two Knights Bachelor dubbed after the marriage of the Duke of York to Lady Anne
• Knights Bachelor made at the landing of Henry VII at Milford Haven
• 16 June 1487 - Knights and bannerets made after the Battle of Stoke Field

16th century knights chronology

Monarchs

• 21 April 1509 – Henry VII died and was succeeded by Henry VIII
• 28 January 1547 – Henry VIII died and was succeeded by Edward VI
• 6 July 1553 – Edward VI died
• 10-19 July 1553 – Lady Jane Gray, the nine-day Queen, and her successor Mary I
• 25 July 1554-55 – Mary married Philip of Spain
• 17 November 1558 – Mary died and was succeeded by Elizabeth I

Events

• 1512 – Twenty-eight knights are each stated to be “bannerets”
• 9 September 1513 – Thirty-five knights made after Battle of Flodden
• 25 December 1513 – Over forty-nine knights made at the Church of Touraine near Lille
• 30 May 1533 – Eighteen Knights of the Bath made at the coronation of Anne Boleyn and seven knights made at Greenwich before her coronation.
• 6 February 1547 – Edward VI dubbed a knight by his uncle, the Earl of Hertford, Lord Protector.
• 20 February 1547 – Edward VI dubbed forty knights before his coronation.
• 22 February 1547 – Edward VI dubbed many ‘Knights of the Carpet’.
• 1547 – Fifteen Knights of the Bath made at Tower of London at the coronation of Edward VI.
• 1552 – Eleven knights made by Duke of Norfolk, Lord Treasurer.
• 1554 – Fifty-eight knights made in Scotland by Earl of Hertford, the King’s Lieutenant General.
• 1558 – Eighteen knights of the Bath made at the coronation of Elizabeth.
• 1560 – Twelve knights dubbed at Barwick by the Duke of Norfolk.

Many Knights were made during the various Royal Progresses of Elizabeth I.

17th century knights chronology

Monarchs

• Elizabeth – Died March 1603
• James I – Succeeded 24 March 1603
• Charles I – Succeeded 27 March 1625
• Charles II – Succeeded 30 January 1649 (de jure)
• Oliver Cromwell – As Protector from 16 December 1653
• Richard Cromwell – From 3 September 1658
• Charles II – Restored 29 May 1660
• James II – Succeeded 6 February 1685, fled 11 December 1688
• Interregnum – 11 December 1688-12 February 1689
• William and Mary – Succeeded 13 February 1689 (Mary died 28 December 1694)

Events

• 24 March 1603 – Queen Elizabeth died
• 28 March 1603 – Sir John Payton, first knight made by King James, dubbed at Edinburgh
• 17 July 1603 – General summons for all persons that had £40 in lands to come and receive the honour of knighthood or compound. The list of 23 July must be in response to this; the majority attended according to the summons and on that day some 427 persons were dubbed, at least 350 of them in the royal garden at Whitehall before the King’s coronation on 25 July.
• 25 July 1603 – King James I, on the occasion of his coronation, made 62 Knights Companion of the Order of the Bath (KB). He also made 430 Knights Bachelor (Kt Bach) at Whitehall.
• 6 January 1604/5 – Twelve KBs created on the occasion of Prince Charles’ creation as Duke of York
• 2 June 1610 – Twenty-six KBs created on the occasion of Prince Henry’s creation as Prince of Wales at Whitehall
• 27 March 1625 – King James I died
• 12 April 1625 – Sire Morris Abbotts, Alderman of London, first knight made by King Charles I at Whitehall
• 1 February 1626 – Fifty-nine KBs made on the occasion of the coronation of King Charles I
• 21 May 1638 – Five KBs made with Prince Charles as preparatory to him receiving the Order of the Garter
• 30 January 1649 – Charles I executed, Charles II succeeds de jure
• 1650-51 – Nineteen Kts Bach made by Charles II in Scotland
• 1653-58 – Thirty-six Kts Back made by Oliver Cromwell
• 1655 – Sir Andrew Ramsay of Abbotshall, Scotland, apparently knighted twice as he is again recorded as being dubbed 17 July 1660; he was made a baronet in 1669.
• 1658 – Two Kts Bach made by Richard Cromwell
• 1660 – List compiled of 687 names of persons who were fit and qualified for knighthood in the proposed Knights of The Royal Oak. Charles intended the order to be a reward to his followers who supported him while he was exiled in France. It was, however, thought better to lay it aside so as not to open old wounds.
• 23 April 1661 – Sixty-nine KBs made on the occasion of King Charles II’s coronation
• 7 November 1665 – First London Gazette published.

Henry, Viscount Falkland, holds the record for the greatest number of nights made by a Chief Governor of Ireland. He was Lord Deputy from September 1622 to October 1629 and he made a total of 83 knights. A close second was Robert, Earl of Essex, Lord Lieutenant, who during a span of four months in 1599 made 81 knights. Such staggering numbers drew the attention, and outrage, of Queen Elizabeth, who went so far as to issue a proclamation invalidating 38 of those knighthoods. However, knighthoods cannot be unmade by such a proclamation.

Whenever the Sovereign sets foot in Ireland, the functions of the Chief Governor cease. Richard II, James II, William III, George IV, Victoria, and Edward VII have all dubbed knights in Ireland.

18th century knights chronology

It is estimated that 1,200 individuals were knighted in the 18th century.

Monarchs

• William III – Mary had died in 1694
• Anne – Succeeded 8 March 1701/2
• George I – Succeeded 1 August 1714
• George II – Succeeded 11 June 1727
• George III – Succeeded 25 October 1760

Events

• 31 December 1703 – Knight Companion of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle (KT Order) revived by Queen Anne
• 18 May 1725 – Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath (up to 1815), abbreviated as KB, revived by George I. There were 37 original KBs invested 27 May and installed 17 June.
• 27 May 1725 – Prince William Augustus, second son of the Prince of Wales, was the first KB appointed on revival of the order. He later became Duke of Cumberland.
• 30 September 1765 – Sir James Taylor, Lord Mayor of Dublin, knighted by the Lord Justices of Ireland – being the last knighthood conferred by such office holder.
• 1 June 1777 – Robert Chambers, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at Fort William in Bengal, created Knight Bachelor (Kt Bach) by patent, the first creation by this method.

Persons who conferred knighthoods on behalf of the sovereign in the 18th century

Lord Lieutenants of Ireland

• James Duke of Ormonde – 1703-07
• Thomas, Earl of Wharton – 1708-10
• James, Duke of Ormonde – 1710-1713
• Charles, Viscount Townshend – 1717-17
• Charles, Duke of Grafton – 1720-24
• Lionel, Earl of Dorset – 1730-37
• William, Duke of Devonshire – 1737-45
• William, Earl of Harrington – 1746-50
• Lionel, Duke of Dorset – 1750-55
• William, Marquess of Hartington (late Duke of Devonshire) – 1755-57
• John, Duke of Bedford – 1757-61
• George, Earl of Halifax – 1761-63
• George, Viscount Townshend – 1767-72
• Simon, Earl of Harcourt – 1772-76
• John, Earl of Buckingham – 1776-80
• John, Earl of Westmoreland – 1789-94
• William, Earl Fitzwilliam – 1794-95
• John, Earl of Camden – 1795-98

Lord Chancellor of Ireland

• Sir Constantine Phipps – 1711-14

Governors General of Fort William in Bengal (Regulating Act of 1773)

• Warren Hastings – 20 October 1774
• Earl (Marquess Cornwallis) – 8 February 1785
• Sir John Shore (Lord Teignmouth) – 12 September 1786
• Sir John Macpherson (temp) – 28 October 1793
• Sir A Clarke (temp) – 17 March 1798
• Earl of Mornington (Marquess Wellesley) – 18 May 1798

The following were entrusted with the investing of grantees of British Orders of Knighthood outside the British Isles

• Empresses of Russia – Catherine I (1725-1727) and Catherine II (1762-1796)
• Kings of Sweden – Frederick (1720-1751), Adolphus Frederick (1751-1771), and Gustavus III (1771-1792)
• Commandant of Gibraltar – Major General Parslow
• Kings of Prussia – Frederick William I (1713-1740), Frederick II (1740-1786), and Frederick William II (1786-1797)
• Duke of Marlborough
• Commandant of the Bengal Army – Lieutenant General Sir John Clavering (1774)
• Lieutenant Governor of Gibraltar and as Governor – Major General Robert Boyd (1770-1776, 1790-1792)
• Duke of Hamilton
• King of Spain – Ferdinand VI (succ. 1746)
• Grand Dukes of Tuscany – Francis II (1737-1765) and Leopold I (1765-1790)
• Earl of Balcarres
• East India Company – Sir Charles Warre Malet Bt.
• East India Company Governor of New York – Major General Robert Monckton (1761)
• 3rd Viscount Howe
• Baron Whitworth
• Nabobs of Arcot – Daud Khan (1703), Muhammad Sayyid Saadatullah Khan I (1710), Dost Ali Khan (1732), Safdar Ali Khan (1740), Saadatullah Khan II (1742), Anwar ud din Muhammad (1744), Wala Jah Muhammad Ali (1749), and Umdat ul Umara (1795)
• Nabob of the Carnatic

19th century knights chronology

Monarchs

• George III – Died 29 January 1820
• George IV – Succeeded 29 January 1820, died 26 June 1830
• William IV – Succeeded 26 June 1830, died 20 June 1837
• Victoria – Succeeded 20 June 1837

Events

• 1814 – Sir Thomas, Lord Cochrane KB degraded, succeeded his father as Earl in 1831 and was granted a free pardon in 1832, created GCB in 1847.
• 2 January 1815 – Order of the Bath enlarged and re-modelled to 72 Knights Grand Cross (GCB) and to 180 Knights Companion (KCB). This number included all existing KBs who automatically became GCBs. Of this group of 72, twelve belonged to the Civil Division and 60 to the Military Division.
• 1816 – General Sir Eyre Coote KB degraded by Royal Warrant dated 25 July for dishonourable conduct; he died in 1823. (There is no statue that authorises the total deprivation of a knighthood; a person can only be degraded from an order of chivalry.)
• 30 October 1819 – Thomas Gret, physician apparently dubbed twice, first by Earl Talbot, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and again on 30 November 1819 by the Prince Regent.
• 16 May 1820 – Admiral Thomas Pakenham created GCB, however, later it was discovered that he had never been knighted, so he was dubbed Knight Bachelor on 20 August.
• 12 August-5 September 1821 – King George IV in Ireland
• 19 August 1843 – James Dombrain, Inspector General of Coastguards in Ireland, supposedly made a Knight Banneret in consequence of having been knighted under the Royal Standard, dubbed on board a cruiser in Kingston harbour.
• 13 July 1857 – Four Australian Knights created by Letters Patent.
• 28 July 1897 – King Alphonso XIII of Spain, born in 1886, was created a GCVO (Hon) when only 11 years old.

Persons who conferred knighthoods on behalf of the sovereign in the 19th century

Chief Governors of Ireland

• Charles, Marquess Cornwallis – Date of appointment 17 June 1798
• Philip, Earl Hardwicke – Date of appointment 27 April 1801
• John, Duke of Bedford – Date of appointment 12 March 1806
• Charles Duke of Richmond – Date of appointment 11 April 1807
• Charles, Viscount Whitworth (cr. Earl Whitworth) – Date of appointment 23 June 1813
• Charles, Earl Talbot – Date of appointment 3 October 1817
• Richard, Marquess Wellesley – Date of appointment 8 December 1821
• Henry William, Marquess of Anglesey – Date of appointment 27 February 1828
• Hugh, Duke of Northumberland – Date of appointment 23 January 1829
• Henry William, Marquess of Anglesey – Date of appointment 4 December 1830
• Richard, Marquess Wellesley – Date of appointment 12 September 1833
• Thomas, Earl of Haddington – Date of appointment 1 January 1835
• Henry, Earl of Mulgrave (cr. Marquess of Normanby) – Date of appointment 29 April 1835
• Hugh, Viscount Ebrington (succ. as Earl Fortescue) – Dare of appointment 13 March 1839
• Thomas, Earl de Grey – Date of appointment 11 September 1841
• William, Baron Heytesbury – Date of appointment 17 July 1844
• John William, Earl of Bessborough – Date of appointment 8 July 1846
• George William Frederick, Earl of Clarendon – Date of appointment 22 May 1847
• Archibald William, Earl of Eglinton – Date of appointment 11 March 1852
• Edward Granville, Earl of St Germains – Date of appointment 5 January 1853
• George William Frederick, Earl of Carlisle – Date of appointment 7 March 1855
• Archibald William, Earl of Eglinton – Date of appointment 8 March 1858
• George William Frederick, Earl of Carlisle – Date of appointment 24 June 1859
• John, Baron Wodehouse (succ. as Earl of Kimberley) – Date of appointment 1 November 1864
• James, Marquess of Abercorn (cr. Duke of Argyle) – Date of appointment 13 July 1866
• John Poyntz, Earl Spencer – Date of appointment 18 December 1868
• James, Duke of Abercorn – Date of appointment 2 March 1874
• John Winston, Duke of Marlborough – Date of appointment 11 December 1876
• Francis Thomas le Grey, Earl Cowper – Date of appointment 4 May 1880
• John Poyntz, Earl Spencer – Date of appointment 4 May 1882
• Henry, Earl of Carnarvon – Date of appointment 27 June 1875
• John Campbell, Earl of Aberdeen – Date of appointment 8 February 1886
• Charles Stewart, Marquess of Londonderry – Date of appointment 3 August 1886
• Robert Baron Houghton (cr. Earl of Crewe) – Date of appointment 18 August 1892
• George Henry, Earl of Cadogan – Date of appointment 29 June 1895

Governors General of Fort William in Bengal (Regulating Act of 1773)

• Earl of Mornington (Marquess Wellesley) – Date of appointment 18 May 1798
• Marquess Cornwallis (for a second term) – Date of appointment 30 July 1805
• Sir George Barlow (temp) – Date of appointment 10 October 1805
• Baron (Earl of Minto) – Date of appointment 30 July 1807
• Earl of Moira (Marquess of Hastings) – Date of appointment 4 October 1813
• John Adam (temp) – Date of appointment 13 January 1823
• Baron (Earl) Amherst – Date of appointment 1 August 1823
• William Butterworth Bayley (temp) – Date of appointment 13 March 1828
• Lord William Cavendish-Bentinck – Date of appointment 4 July 1828

Governors General of India (Charter Act of 1833)

• Lord William Cavendish-Bentinck – Date of appointment 16 June 1828
• Sir Charles (Lord) Metcalfe (temp) – Date of appointment 20 March 1835
• Baron (Earl) of Auckland – Date of appointment 4 March 1836
• Baron (Earl) of Ellenborough – Date of appointment 28 February 1842
• William Wiilberforce Bird (temp) – Date of appointment 15 June 1844
• Sir Henry (Viscount) Hardinge – Date of appointment 23 July 1844
• Earl (Marquess) of Dalhousie – Date of appointment 12 January 1848
• Viscount (Earl) Canning – Date of appointment 29 February 1856

Governors General and Viceroys (Government of India Act 1858)

• Viscount (Earl) Canning – Date of appointment 1 November 1858
• Earl of Elgin and Kincardine – Date of appointment 1 November 1858
• Sir Robert Napier (Baron Napier of Magdala) (temp) – Date of appointment 21 November 1863
• Sire William T Denison (temp) – Date of appointment 2 December 1863
• Sir John (Lord) Lawrence – Date of appointment 12 January 1864
• Earl of Mayo – Date of appointment 12 January 1869
• Sir John Strachey (temp) – Date of appointment 9 February 1872
• Lord Napier of Merchiston (temp) – Date of appointment 23 February 1872
• Baron (Earl) of Northbrook – Date of appointment 3 May 1872
• Baron (Earl) of Lytton – Date of appointment 12 April 1876
• Marquess of Ripon – Date of appointment 8 June 1880
• Earl of Dufferin (Marquess of Dufferin and Ava) – Date of appointment 13 December 1884
• Marquess of Lansdowne – Date of appointment 10 December 1888
• Earl of Elgin and Kincardine – Date of appointment 20 January 1894
• Baron (Earl of Curzon of Kedleston)

20th century knights chronology

Monarchs

• Queen Victoria – Died 22 January 1901
• Edward VIII – Died 6 May 1910
• George V – Died 20 January 1936
• George VI – Died 6 February 1952
• Elizabeth II – Current monarch

Events

• 27 April 1908 – Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor founded
• 22 July 1913 – Re-inauguration of King Henry VII’s Chapel as the Chapel of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath
• 4 June 1917 – The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire instituted by Letters Patent under the Great Seal
• 27 December 1918 – Order of the British Empire divided into Military and Civil Divisions
• 1926 – Permission was given by his majesty for Knights Bachelor to wear a badge; the Roll of Knights Bachelor is to be kept by Garter King of Arms.
• 17 March 1936 – Last conferment made to the Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick
• 14 August 1947 – Last conferment made to both the Most Exalted Order of Star of India and the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire
• 15 August 1947 – India became independent
• 1 January 1965 – Women made eligible for admission to the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George
• 1968 – Decree published in the London Gazette to permit use of the title ‘Sir” by Knights Bachelor as soon as the award has been approved by the Sovereign
• Nov 1970 – Women admitted to the Most Honourable Order of the Bath
• 14 February 1975 – Order of Australia established
• 30 May 1996 – New Zealand Order of Merit established

Persons who conferred knighthoods on behalf of the sovereign in the 20th century

Chief Governors of Ireland

• George Henry, Earl Cadogan – Date of appointment 29 June 1895
• William Humble, Early Dudley – Date of appointment 11 August 1902
• John Campbell, Earl of Aberdeen – Date of appointment 11 December 1905
• Ivor, Lord Wimborne – 17 February 1915
• John, Viscount French – 9 May 1918
• Edmund, Viscount Fitzalan of Derwent – Date of appointment 27 April 1921

Governor General, Irish Free State

• Timothey Michael Healey – Date of appointment 6 December 1922

Governor of Northern Ireland

• James, Duke of Abercorn – Date of appointment 9 December 1922
• William Spencer, Earl Granville – 7 September 1945
• John, Lord Wakehurst – 1 December 1952

Governors General and Viceroys (Government of India Act 1858)

• Baron (Earl) Curzon Kedleston – Date of appointment 6 January 1899
• Lord Ampthill (temp) – Date of appointment 30 April 1904
• Baron (Marquess) Curzon of Kedleston (re-appointed) – Date of appointment 13 December 1904
• Earl of Minto – Date of appointment 18 November 1905
• Baron Hardinge of Penshurst – Date of appointment 23 November 1910
• Baron Chelmsford – Date of appointment 4 April 1916
• Earl of Reading – Date of appointment 2 April 1921
• Lord Lytton (temp) – Date of appointment 10 April 1925
• Earl of Reading – Date of appointment 6 August 1925
• Lord Irwin – Date of appointment 3 April 1926
• Lord Goschen (temp) – 29 June 1929
• Earl of Willingdon – Date of appointment 18 April 1931
• Sir George Stanley (temp) – Date of appointment 16 May 1934
• Marquess of Linlithgow – Date of appointment 18 April 1936
• Earl Wavell – Date of appointment 20 October 1943
• Viscount Monthbatten – 24 March 1947