Royal Order of Victoria and Albert
British honour
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Royal Order of Victoria and Albert is a British royal family order instituted on 10 February 1862[1] by Queen Victoria, and enlarged on 10 October 1864, 15 November 1865, and 15 March 1880. No award has been made since the death of Queen Victoria.
| Royal Order of Victoria and Albert | |
|---|---|
 The four grades of the Order | |
| Awarded by Queen Victoria | |
| Type | Royal Family Order |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Ribbon | White |
| Eligibility | Female members of the British royal family and female courtiers |
| Criteria | At Her Majesty's pleasure |
| Status | Defunct; not awarded since the death of Queen Victoria |
| Post-nominals | VA |
 Ribbon of the Order | |
The order had four classes and was granted to female members of the British royal family and female courtiers. For the first three classes, the badge consisted of a medallion of Queen Victoria and Albert, Prince Consort, differing in the width and jewelling of the border as the classes descend, whilst the fourth substitutes a jewelled cipher. All four were surmounted by a crown, which was attached to a bow of white silk moiré ribbon. The honour conferred no rank or title upon the recipient, but recipients were entitled to use the post-nominal letters "VA".
The last holder of the Order, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, died in 1981.
Recipients
- 1863 Alexandra, Princess of Wales
- Elizabeth Biddulph, Baroness Biddulph (Woman of the Bedchamber)[2]
- The Countess of Mount Edgcumbe[clarification needed] (Lady of the Bedchamber)[3]
- Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill (Lady of the Bedchamber)[4]
- 1889: Hariot Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava[5]
- Edith Bulwer-Lytton, Countess of Lytton[6]
a full list of recipients is published on pages 37–41 of Royal Service Volume 2[7]
Sources
- Whitaker's Almanack, 1893
- British Imperial Calendar, 1900, 1902
- The Times