Order of the British Empire
The
Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an
order of chivalry within the
British honours system and was established in
1917 by
George V. The motto of the Order is
For God and the Empire.
The order has five grades, the top two of which are knightly (
post-nominals in parentheses):
- Knight/ Dame Grand Cross (GBE)\n*Knight/ Dame Commander (KBE/DBE)\n*Commander of Order (CBE)\n*Officer of the Order (OBE)\n*Member of the Order (MBE)
There is a related
British Empire Medal (BEM) which is no longer awarded in the
United Kingdom, but is still awarded by some Commonwealth countries.
The Order is limited to 100 Knights and Dames Grand Cross, 845 Knights and Dames Commanders, and 8960 Commanders. Also, no more than 858 Officers and 1464 Members may be appointed per year.
The chapel of the order is in the far eastern end of the crypt of
St Paul's Cathedral; but it holds its great services upstairs in the main body of the cathedral.
The insignia:\n* The
Collar is a silver gilt chain consisting of six medallions bearing the
Royal Arms, alternating with six medallions bearing the cypher GRI. Only Knights and Dames Grand Cross are entitled to the collar, which they wear around the neck.\n* The
Badge is a Cross Patonce, above which is a gold medallion bearing on one side the images of
King George V, and his wife
Queen Mary within a red circle bearing the motto "For God and the Empire" in gold letters. On the other side is the cypher GRI. Above the medallion is a figure of the Imperial State Crown. Knights and Dames Grand Cross wear the Badge suspended from the Collar. Knights Commander and male Commanders, Officers, and Members wear it on a ribbon worn around the neck, while Dames Commander and female Commanders, Officers, and Members wear it on a bow placed on the left shoulder.\n* The
Star is an eight-pointed silver figure bearing the same medallion that appears on the Badge. Only Knights and Dames Grand Cross and Knights and Dames Commander are entitled to it.
Although most of the recipients are
British or from certain other
Commonwealth countries, the honour is occasionally awarded to foreign nationals. Such a recipient is unable to use the appellation "Sir" unless he subsequently becomes a subject of the British monarch (as in the cases of
Sir Yehudi Menuhin and
Sir John Paul Getty, Jr). Furthermore, foreign recipients are not counted towards the limits on membership. Ordained ministers in the Church of England, such as
Rev Dr John Polkinghorne KBE are also not allowed to use the appellation "Sir".
Notable foreign recipients include:\n*
Wesley Clark\n*Aatos Erkko\n*
Tommy Franks\n*
Bill Gates\n*
Bob Geldof\n*
Rudolph Giuliani\n*
Billy Graham\n*
Alan Greenspan\n*
Bob Hope (note: Hope was born in
England, but became a
US citizen in
1920)\n*
Steven Spielberg\n*
John Paul Getty, Jr (
US-born Getty had lived in London for 26 years before becoming a
British citizen in
1997)\n*
Yehudi Menuhin (note: Menuhin was born in the
US, but became a
British citizen in
1985)\n*
Pelé\n*
Murray Perahia\n*
André Previn\n*
Sidney Poitier\n*
Brent Scowcroft\n*
Caspar Weinberger
See also
\n* List of television personalities who have been awarded the Order of the British Empire\n*
British and Commonwealth orders and decorations\n*
List of people who have declined a British honour
\nzh-cn:不列颠帝国勋章
GBE is also the acronym for the
Gravitational Beam Emitter
Category:British honours system
