Order of Merit
In 1873, Lord Stanhope, founder of the National Portrait Gallery, moved an address to the Crown in the House of Lords, suggesting an order of merit. However, it wasn’t until on 5th January 1888, that Lord Salisbury, the British Prime Minister, submitted a draft constitution to the Queen for an Order of Merit in Science and Art, consisting of one grade split into two branches: Scientific Merit and Artistic Merit. However, Sir Frederic Leighton, President of the Royal Academy, advised against the new order, primarily because of its selection process.
King Edward VII eventually founded the Order of Merit (some say on 26th June 1902, the date for which his Coronation had been originally planned but had to be postponed due to his appendix operation; some say 3 days earlier) as a means to acknowledge "exceptionally meritorious service in Our Navy and Our Army, or who may have rendered exceptionally meritorious service towards the advancement of Art, Literature and Science". All modern aspects of the order were established under his direction, including the division for military figures. (HRH The late Prince Philip was a civil member, despite holding the highest ranks in all the services.)
Originally, King Edward had wanted 60 Members but the Secretary of War, St John Broderick, managed to get it reduced to 24. His Majesty wanted the order “vested in the Sovereign’s hands” but would “naturally” consult the Prime Minister and Ministers at the head of certain Departments. However, prime ministers attempted to propose candidates or lobbied to influence the monarch's decision on appointments from the outset, but the Royal Household adamantly guarded information about potential names.
There have been many famous names who have received the Order in the past, including Benjamin Britten, Winston Churchill (whose place was taken over by Nobel Prize-winning chemist Dorothy Hodgkin in 1965), Edward Elgar, T. S. Eliot and Thomas Hardy, although both Rudyard Kipling and George Bernard Shaw turned the appointment down.
From its inception, the Order has been open to women, Florence Nightingale being the first woman to receive the honour, in 1907. Her Badge can be seen here, bearing King Edward VII's cypher. (Even then, the King is reported to have been reluctant to bestow it on her.) Florence Nightingale's biographer, Cecil Woodham0-Smith wrote that she received her honour when "she had passed beyond the power of the world to please or pain". Having said all that, it wasn't until Dorothy Hodkin received her Order of merit in 1965, filling the place left vacant by the death of Sir Winston Churchill, that the next woman received this Order. Lord Knollys, the King's Private Secretary, called at her home on behalf of the King. Woodham-Smith continues: "It was not even certain that she understood the honour she had received. An explanation was attempted, but she hardly seemed to grasp it. 'Too kin, too kind,' she murmured." |
Other women recipients have included Margaret Thatcher, Dame Joan Sutherland and, presently, former Speaker of the House of Commons (and first woman to hold the post) Baroness (Betty) Boothroyd and Dame Ann Dowling, Head of the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge. Present-day Members who might be well-known include Sir David Attenbrough, David Hockney, Sir Simon Rattle and Sir James Dyson. The Order bestows no honour in itself, such as knighthood or damehood, on the recipient other than the postnominal letters OM. Neither does it allow the recipient to petition for Supporters to any Coat of Arms they may have. Indeed, it is difficult to find the representation of the Arms of a holder of the Order of Merit other than Lady Thatcher, as shown here. |
General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower remains the only President of the United States to have received an honorary Order of Merit, which he was given between being made a KCB in the Order of the Bath in 1943 and becoming President 10 years later.
There has been no honorary appointments to the Order of Merit since Nelson Mandela.
The Order of Merit commissions fell into abeyance with the outbreak of the First World War, but The Queen revived the practice in 1987. This time, however, the drawings are always made by a different artist: The Queen herself by John Merton, Lord Olivier by Derek Hill and Lady Thatcher by John Edwards (as above). Artist David Hockney was appointed to the Order of Merit in 2012 and four months later executed his own iPad drawing which he presented to Her Majesty as part of the portrait series in July the following year. The Queen has also made it the practice to invite all holders to luncheon at Buckingham Palace every 5 years. The first was held on 17th November 1977 in celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Order. This was preceded by a service in the Chapel Royal, St James's entirely derived from words and music by previous holders such as Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Walton. The Queen resisted Lord Mountbatten's plan for a speech at the luncheon, but the old mariner, undeterred, soon started tapping his glass and rising to his feet. Despite this, the luncheon has become a regular feature and a photograph is taken. |