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Order of the Crown of India

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Order of the Crown of India

The Imperial Order of the Crown of India is an order in the British honours system. The Order was established by Queen Victoria when she became Empress of India in 1878.[1] The Order was open only to women, and no appointments have been made since the Partition of India in 1947. The Order was limited to British princesses, wives or female relatives of Indian princes (female rulers like the Nawab Begums of Bhopal counted as such) and the wife or female relatives of any person who held the office of:

Quick Facts Imperial Order of the Crown of India, Awarded by the British monarch ...
Imperial Order of the Crown of India
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The insignia of the Imperial Order of the Crown
of India
Awarded by the British monarch
TypeOrder of Chivalry
EligibilityBritish princesses, wives or female relatives of Indian princes
StatusLast appointment in 1947
Dormant order since 2022
Post-nominalsCI
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Ribbon of the order

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History

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The Order of the Crown of India was established by Queen Victoria in 1878 as a companion order to the Order of Victoria and Albert. The order was intended to recognize women associated with India regardless of their social statuses. In practice, the Order of the Crown of India was mostly conferred on royalty, wives of peers, wives of members of India's ruling classes and wives of civil servants stationed in India. It is one of the few honors which was reserved for women only, such as the Royal Red Cross, Order of Victoria and Albert and the Royal Family Order.

Queen Elizabeth II, then Princess Elizabeth, and her sister, Princess Margaret, were appointed to the Order by their father, King George VI, in June 1947, before the British Raj was dissolved three months later, making them among the last women to be presented with the Order. By the late 20th century there were only four living recipients – Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, who was the last ordinary member at the time of her death in 2004.

With the death of the last surviving holder, Queen Elizabeth II, the last active imperial Indian order became dormant in 2022.

Description

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Badge of the order

The members of the Order could use the post-nominal letters "CI", but did not acquire any special precedence or status due to it. Furthermore, they were entitled to wear the badge of the Order, which included Queen Victoria's Imperial Cypher, VRI (Victoria Regina Imperatrix). The letters were set in diamonds, pearls, and turquoises, and were together surrounded by a border of pearls surmounted by a figure of the Imperial Crown. The badge was worn and attached to a light blue bow, edged in white, on the left shoulder.

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Elizabeth II, in her uniform as Colonel-in-Chief of the Scots Guards, wears the badge of the order as a medal (first on left). (Trooping the Colour, 1986)

Recipients

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Rani Lakshmi Bayi of Travancore wearing the badge and ribbon of the order

1878–1900

1901–1947

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Tara Devi, the Maharani of Jammu and Kashmir

Sources

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