King Charles and Queen Camilla will lead members of the Royal Family on foot from Windsor Castle to St George’s Chapel for this year’s annual Order of the Garter ceremony.
Three distinguished figures from academia, the civil service and the judiciary will join Britain’s most prestigious order of chivalry as Knight Companions.
Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield, Lord O’Donnell and Lord Burnett of Maldon will undergo a private investiture ceremony in the Garter Throne Room before the main service.
Their appointments to the Most Noble Order of the Garter were confirmed on April 23 2026.
King Charles and Queen Camilla will lead members of the Royal Family on foot from Windsor Castle to St George’s Chapel for this year’s annual Order of the Garter ceremony.
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Following the chapel service, the Royal Family will return to the castle by carriage.
The Order of the Garter holds the distinction of being Britain’s oldest and most senior chivalric order, having been founded by Edward III approximately 700 years ago.
Membership comprises the Sovereign, who serves as head of the Order, the Queen, various Royal Family members, and a maximum of 24 companions.
Selection for this honour rests solely with the monarch, who personally chooses individuals who have distinguished themselves through public service, made notable contributions to the nation, or served the Crown directly.
All three newly appointed companions currently sit as crossbench life peers in the House of Lords.
Lord Hennessy has dedicated his career to chronicling British governmental history, holding the position of Attlee Professor of Contemporary British History at Queen Mary University of London since 2000.
Born in North London with Catholic Irish roots on his paternal side, he attended grammar school in Stroud before reading at St John’s College, Cambridge and later receiving a Kennedy Memorial Scholarship to Harvard.
His journalistic career spanned The Times, where he served as Whitehall correspondent and leader writer, the Financial Times and the Economist.
He became a familiar voice on BBC Radio 4, presenting Analysis and later Reflections.
His book on postwar Britain, Never Again, secured both the Duff Cooper Prize and NCR Book Award, whilst his 1950s study earned the 2007 Orwell Prize.
Lord O’Donnell occupied the most senior position in British government administration, serving as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service from 2005 until 2011.
Raised in South London and educated at Salesian College, Battersea, he studied economics at Warwick before completing further studies at Nuffield College, Oxford.
After lecturing in economics at Glasgow University, he joined the Treasury in 1979 and subsequently held diplomatic postings in Washington, including roles at the IMF and World Bank.
He acted as Press Secretary to both the Chancellor and Prime Minister during his career.
Since departing Whitehall, he has chaired Frontier Economics and held a professorship at the London School of Economics.
Lord Burnett held the office of Lord Chief Justice from 2017 to 2023, becoming the youngest person appointed to that role in nearly six decades when he took up the position aged fifty-nine.
He read jurisprudence at Pembroke College, Oxford, where he was made an honorary fellow in 2008.
Called to the bar at Middle Temple in 1980, he took silk in 1998 and practised across civil, public and administrative law.
His judicial career progressed through the High Court and Court of Appeal, where he oversaw extradition matters and supervised immigration and public law appeals.
He has held a Deputy Lieutenancy in Essex since 2024.