Order of the Crown of India

Order of the Crown of India
The insignia of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India
Awarded by The Sovereign, on the advice of HM Government
Type	Order of Chivalry
Day	NA
Eligibility	British princesses, wives or female relatives of Indian princes
Awarded for	A national order of chivalry
Status	Not awarded since 1947
Sovereign	Queen Elizabeth II
Principal Commander	Sovereign
Former grades	NA
Statistics
Established	1878
First induction	ND
Last induction	ND
Total inductees	ND
Distinct recipients	ND
Ribbon of the order

The Imperial Order of the Crown of India is an order in the British honours system. The Order was established by Queen Victoria in 1878, when she became Empress of India. ^[1] The Order is open only to women; no new appointments have been made after the Partition of India in 1947. The Order was limited to British princesses, wives or female relatives of Indian princes and wives or female relatives of any person who held the office of:

• Viceroy of India,
• Governor-General of India,
• Governor of Madras,
• Governor of Bombay,
• Governor of Bengal,
• Secretary of State for India,
• Commander-in-Chief in India.

Description

The members of the Order, titled Companions, could use the post-nominals "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 the Imperial Crown. The badge was worn attached to a light blue bow, edged in white, on the left shoulder. Queen Elizabeth II (as Princess Elizabeth) and her sister Princess Margaret were appointed to the Order by their father King George VI in June 1947. Queen Elizabeth II is the last surviving former member (now Sovereign) of the Order. Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester was the last ordinary member at the time of her death in 2004.

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)

Companions of the Order

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

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

1878-1900

1. 1878: The Princess of Wales
2. 1878: The German Crown Princess
3. 1878: The Grand Duchess of Hesse
4. 1878: Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein
5. 1878: Princess Louise, Marchioness of Lorne
6. 1878: Princess Beatrice
7. 1878: The Duchess of Edinburgh
8. 1878: The Duchess of Cambridge
9. 1878: The Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
10. 1878: The Duchess of Teck
11. 1878: Maharani Bamba Singh
12. 1878: Sultan Shah Jahan, Begum of Bhopal
13. 1878: Maharani Sita Vilas Dawaji Ammani Anaro of Mysore
14. 1878: Maharanee Jumnabai Sahib Gaekwad of Baroda (widow of Maharaja Khanderao)
15. 1878: Dilawar un-Nisa Begum Sahiba, of Hyderabad
16. 1878: Nawab Qudsia, Begum of Bhopal
17. 1878: Vijaya Mohana Muktamba Bai Ammani Raja Sahib of Tanjore
18. 1878: Maharani Swarnamoyee of Cossimbazar
19. 1878: The Duchess of Argyll
20. 1878: The Marchioness of Salisbury
21. 1878: The Marchioness of Ripon, wife of the Viceroy
22. 1878: Lady Mary Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville
23. 1878: The Countess of Elgin
24. 1878: The Countess of Mayo
25. 1878: Lady Susan Bourke
26. 1878: Viscountess Halifax
27. 1878: Lady Hobart (Mary Hobart, wife of Vere Henry Hobart, Lord Hobart, Governor of Madras)
28. 1878: Lady Jane Baring
29. 1878: Anne Napier, Baroness Napier (wife of Francis Napier, 10th Lord Napier, Governor of the Presidency of Madras, 1866–1872)
30. 1878: Edith Bulwer-Lytton, Countess of Lytton
31. 1878: Harriette Lawrence, Baroness Lawrence
32. 1878: Cecilia Northcote, Countess of Iddesleigh
33. 1878: Catherine Frere, Lady Frere (wife of Sir Henry Frere, 1st Baronet, Governor of Bombay)
34. 1878: Mary Temple, Lady Temple (wife of Sir Richard Temple, 1st Baronet, Governor of Bombay)
35. 1878: Caroline Denison, Lady Denison (wife of Sir William Denison, Governor of Madras)
36. 1878: Katherine Strachey, Lady Strachey (wife of Sir John Strachey, Acting Viceroy of India 1872)
37. 1878: Jane Gathorne-Hardy, Countess of Cranbrook
38. 1878: Princess Frederica of Hanover
39. 1878: Princess Marie of Hanover
40. 1879: The Duchess of Cumberland
41. 1879: The Duchess of Connaught
42. 1879: Lady Napier of Magdala (wife of Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala, Commander-in-Chief in India 1870-1876 and Acting Viceroy of India, 1862-1863)
43. 1879: Lady Frances Cunynghame
44. 1879: Dowager Lady Pottinger (widow of Sir Henry Pottinger, Governor of the Presidency of Madras 1848-1854)
45. 1881: Bharani Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi, Senior Rani of Attingal
46. 1881: Lady Fergusson (Olive Fergusson, wife of Sir James Fergusson, 6th Baronet, Governor of the Presidency of Bombay, 1880-1885)
47. 1881: Mrs William Patrick Adam (Emily Adam, widow of William Patrick Adam, Governor of the Presidency of Madras 1880-1881)
48. 1882: The Duchess of Albany
49. 1884: Edith Fergusson (daughter of Sir James Fergusson, 6th Baronet, Governor of the Presidency of Bombay, 1880-1885)
50. 1884: The Countess of Dufferin (wife of Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Earl of Dufferin, Viceroy of India, 1884-1888)
51. 1885: Lady Randolph Churchill (wife of Lord Randolph Churchill, Secretary of State for India, 1885-1886)
52. 1886: Viscountess Cross (wife of Richard Assheton Cross, 1st Viscount Cross, Secretary of State for India 1886-1892)
53. 1887: Princess Louise of Wales
54. 1887: Princess Victoria of Wales
55. 1887: Princess Maud of Wales
56. 1887: Maharanee Sunity Devee of Kuch Behar
57. 1889: Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein
58. 1889: Princess Victoria Mary of Teck
59. 1890: Lady Harris (wife of George Harris, 4th Baron Harris, Governor of the Presidency of Bombay, 1890-1895)
60. 1891: Maharanee Sakhiabai Raje Sahib Scindia Bahadur, Regent of Gwalior (widow of Maharaja Sir Jayajirao Scindia Bahadur)
61. 1892: Maharanee Chimnabai Sahib Gaekwad of Baroda (wife of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III)
62. 1892: Lady Nandkuverbai Bhagvatsinh Jadeja, Rani Sahib of Gondal
63. 1893: Vani Vilasa Sannidhana, Maharani of Mysore (wife of Chamaraja Wodeyar IX Bahadur)
64. 1893: The Crown Princess of Romania
65. 1893: Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
66. 1893: Princess Aribert of Anhalt
67. 1894: The Countess of Elgin (wife of Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin, Viceroy of India, 1894-1899)
68. 1895: Mrs Henry Fowler (Ellen Fowler, wife of Henry Fowler, later Viscount Wolverhampton, Secretary of State for India, 1894-1895)
69. 1895: The Lady Sandhurst (wife of William Mansfield, 1st Baron Sandhurst, later Viscount Sandhurst, Governor of the Presidency of Bombay, 1895-1900)
70. 1895: Lady George Hamilton (wife of Lord George Hamilton, Secretary of State for India, 1895-1903)
71. 1897: The Hereditary Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
72. 1897: Maharani Sahiba of Udaipur (wife of Maharajadhiraja Fateh Singh)
73. 1897: Nawab Shamsi Jahan, Begum Sahiba of Murshidabad
74. 1897: Lady Havelock (Anne Havelock, wife of Sir Arthur Havelock, Governor of the Presidency of Madras, 1896-1900)
75. 1899: Lady Curzon of Kedleston (wife of George Curzon, 1st Baron Curzon of Kedleston, later Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, Viceroy of India, 1899-1904, 1904-1905)
76. 1900: Princess Margaret of Connaught
77. 1900: Lady Ampthill (wife of Arthur Russell, 2nd Baron Ampthill, Governor of the Presidency of Madras, 1900-1905)
78. 1900: Lady Northcote (wife of Henry Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote, Governor of the Presidency of Bombay, 1900-1903)

1901-1947

1. 1901: Lady Mary Katharine Lockhart (née Eccles; widow of General Sir William Stephen Alexander Lockhart, Commander in Chief India, 1898–1900)
2. 1909: The Countess of Minto (wife of Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto, Viceroy of India, 1905-1910)
3. 1910: Lady Hardinge of Penshurst (wife of Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, Viceroy of India, 1910-1916)
4. 1911: Princess Patricia of Connaught (Coronation of George V)
5. 1911: Princess Charlotte of Prussia, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen (Coronation of George V)
6. 1911: The Marchioness of Crewe (wife of Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe, Secretary of State for India, 1910-1911)
7. 1911: Kaikhusrau Jahan, Begum of Bhopal
8. 1911: Maharani Sri Nundkanvarba of Bhavnagar
9. 1916: The Viscountess Chelmsford (wife of Frederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford, Viceroy of India, 1916-1921)
10. 1917: Lady Willingdon (wife of Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Baron Willingdon, later Marquess of Willingdon, Governor of the Presidency of Bombay, 1913-1918; Governor of the Presidency of Madras, 1919-1924; Viceroy of India, 1931-1936)
11. 1918: Maji Sahiba Girraj Kuar, Maharani of Bharatpur, Regent of Bharatpur, 1900-1918
12. 1919: Princess Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood
13. 1921: The Countess of Reading (wife of Rufus Isaacs, Earl of Reeding, later Marquess of Reading, Viceroy of India, 1921-1925)
14. 1926: Lady Irwin (wife of Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Baron Irwin, later Earl of Halifax, Viceroy of India, 1926-1931)
15. 1927: The Countess of Lytton (wife of Victor Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Earl of Lytton, Viceroy of India, 1925-1926)
16. 1928: Shrimati Chinkuraja Scindia, Senior Maharani of Gwalior
17. 1929: Puradam Thirunal Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, Regent Maharani of Travancore
18. 1930: Lady Birdwood (wife of William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, Commander-in-Chief in India, 1925-1930)
19. 1931: The Duchess of York
20. 1932: Begum Mariam Sultana, Lady Ali Shah (widow of Aga Khan II)
21. 1936: The Marchioness of Linlithgow (wife of Victor Hope, Marquess of Linlithgow, Viceroy of India, 1936-1943)
22. 1937: The Duchess of Gloucester
23. 1937: The Duchess of Kent
24. 1937: The Lady Brabourne (wife of Michael Knatchbull, 5th Baron Brabourne, Governor of the Presidency of Bombay, 1931-1937, and of Bengal, 1937-1939)
25. 1943: The Viscountess Wavell (wife of Archibald Wavell, Viscount Wavell, later Earl Wavell, Viceroy of India, 1943-1947)
26. 1945: Mrs Leopold Stennett Amery (Florence Amery, wife of Leopold Stennett Amery, war-time Secretary of State for India,1940-1945)^[2]
27. 1946: Maharani Tara Devi of Jammu and Kashmir^[3]
28. 1947: Viscountess Mountbatten of Burma (wife of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Viceroy and later Governor-General of India, 1947-1948))^[4]
29. 1947: Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II)^[5]
30. 1947: Princess Margaret^[5]
31. 1947: Agnes Anne, Baroness Clydesmuir (wife of John Colville, 1st Baron Clydesmuir, Governor of Bombay)^[6]

Dates unknown

1. The Marchioness of Lansdowne (pre 1903)
2. The Countess Roberts

Sources

1. Kay, Ella. "The Imperial Order of the Crown of India.". The Court Jeweller.
2. The London Gazette: no. 37325. p. 5237. 26 October 1945. Retrieved 17 October 2015. "In recognition of her work for Indian service men and Indian seamen as Chairman of the Indian Comforts Fund."
3. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 37598. p. 2763. 4 June 1946. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
4. The London Gazette: no. 37905. p. 1216. 14 March 1947. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
5. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 37976. p. 2569. 12 June 1947. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
6. The London Gazette: no. 38041. p. 3731. 8 August 1947. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

• The London Gazette: no. 24539. p. 113. 4 January 1878.
• The India List and India Office List. Harrison and sons. 1905.