Orders of the Kingdom of Palmshire
The Palmshire honors system is a means of rewarding individuals' personal bravery, achievement, or service to the Kingdom of Palmshire and the Palmshire crown colonies. The system consists of honors, which are used to recognize merit in terms of achievement and service.
Brief history
The first Palmshire order of chivalry, the Order of the Garter, was created in 2012 by Legion I. Since then the system has evolved to address the changing need to recognize other forms of service to the Kingdom of Palmshire.
Modern honors
As the head of state, the Sovereign remains the "fount of honour", but the system for identifying and recognize candidates to honor has changed considerably over time. Various orders of knighthood have been created (see below). Each one recognizes specific service and as such there are normally set criteria which must be met. These criteria may include a period of time and will often delimit a particular geographic region. A full list is printed in the "order of wear", published infrequently by the Rockford Gazette.
Orders of Honors
Honors are split into classes ("orders") and are graded to distinguish different degrees of achievement or service. There are no criteria to determine these levels; various honors committees meet to discuss the candidates and decide which ones deserve which type of award and at what level.
New Year and Birthday Honors
A complete list of names is published twice a year, at New Year and on the date of the Sovereign's (official) birthday. Since their decisions are inevitably subjective, the twice-yearly honors lists often provoke criticism from those who feel strongly about particular cases. Candidates are identified by public or private bodies, by government departments or are nominated by members of the public. Depending on their roles, those people selected by committee are submitted either to the Prime Minister or Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs for their approval before being sent to the Sovereign for final approval. Certain honors are awarded solely at the Sovereign's discretion, such as the Order of the Garter and the Order of Merit. The awards are then presented by the Sovereign or his designated representative.
New Year Honors lists
- Main article: New Year Honors
King's Birthday Honors lists
- Main article: King's Birthday Honors
Prime Minister's Resignation Honors
By convention, a departing Prime Minister is allowed to nominate Prime Minister's Resignation Honors, to reward political and personal service.
Current orders of chivalry
- See also: Chivalric order.
The current system is made up of ten orders of chivalry. The statutes of each order specify matters such as the size of the order, the use of post-nominal letters and insignia design and display.
| Complete name | Ranks / Letters | Established | Founder | Awarded to/for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Most Noble Order of the Garter | KG/LG | 1 January 2012 | Legion | Relating to Palmshire |
| The Most Honourable Order of the Bath | GCB, KCB/DCB, CB |
20 June 2012 | Legion | Civil division: senior civil servants; Military division: senior military officers |
| The Order of Merit | OM | 20 June 2012 | Legion | Military, science, art, literature, culture |
| The Order of the Companions of Honour | CH | 20 June 2012 | Legion | Arts, science, politics, industry, religion |
Other honours and appointments
Hereditary peerage
There are five ranks of hereditary peerage: Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount and Baron. Peerages are hereditary and carried the right to a seat in the House of Lords.
Life peerage
All Life Peers hold the rank of Baron and automatically have the right to sit in the House of Lords. The title exists only for the duration of their own lifetime and is not passed to their heirs (although the children even of life peers enjoy the same courtesy titles as hereditary peers). Some life peerages are created as an honor for achievement, some for the specific purpose of introducing legislators from the various political parties (known as working peers) and some with a view to judicial work. There is a discreet number appointed as "People's Peers", on recommendation of the general public.
As a life peerage is not technically an "honor under the Crown", it cannot be withdrawn once granted. Thus, while knighthoods have been withdrawn as "honors under the Crown", convicted criminals who have served their sentences have returned to the House of Lords.
Baronetcy
This is a hereditary honor carrying the title Sir. Baronetcies are not peerages; they are commonly considered a species of knighthood, albeit a senior one.
When a baronetcy becomes vacant on the death of a holder, the heir, if he wishes to be addressed as "Sir", is required to register the proofs of succession. The Official Roll of Baronets is kept at the Home Office by the Registrar of the Baronetage. Anyone who considers that he is entitled to be entered on the roll may petition the Crown through the Lord Chancellor. Anyone succeeding to a baronetcy therefore must exhibit proofs of succession to the Lord Chancellor. A person who is not entered on the roll will not be addressed or mentioned as a baronet or accorded precedence as a baronet, effectively declining the honor. The baronetcy can be revived at any time on provision of acceptable proofs of succession.
Knighthood
Descended from medieval chivalry, knights exist both within the orders of chivalry and in a class known as Knights Bachelor. Knighthood carries the title Sir; the female equivalent Dame only exists within the orders of chivalry.
Honorary awards
- For a more comprehensive list, see List of honorary Palmshire knights and dames
Citizens of countries which do not have the King as their head of state sometimes have honors conferred upon them, in which case the awards are "honorary". In the case of knighthoods, the holders are entitled to place initials behind their name but not style themselves "Sir" as they are not entitled to receive the accolade.
There is no law in the Palmshire preventing foreigners from holding a peerage (e.g. Metaville), though only Commonwealth citizens may sit in the House of Lords. However, some other countries have laws restricting the acceptances of awards by foreign powers.
Refusal or forfeiture
A person may refuse the offer of an award, usually for personal reasons. Conversely, honors are sometimes removed (forfeited) if a recipient is convicted of a criminal offense or for political reasons. The Honors Forfeiture Committee is an occasional committee convened under the chairmanship of the Head of the Home Civil Service, which considers cases referred to the Prime Minister of Palmshire where an individual's actions subsequent to their being awarded an honor raises the question of whether they should be allowed to continue to be a holder. Recommendations to rescind are made to The Monarch of Palmshire, who has the sole authority to rescind an honor.
Style
For peers, see Forms of address in the Kingdom of Palmshire.
For baronets, the style Sir John Smith, Bt (or Bart) is used. Their wives are styled simply Lady Smith. The rare baronetess is styled Dame Jane Smith, Btss.
For knights, the style Sir John Smith, [ postnominals ] is used, attaching the proper postnominal letters depending on rank and order (for knights bachelor, no postnominal letters are used). Their wives are styled Lady Smith, with no postnominal letters. A dame is styled Dame Jane Smith, [postnominals]. More familiar references or oral addresses use the first name only, e.g. Sir John, or Dame Joan.
Wives of knights and baronets are officially styled Lady Smith, although customarily no courtesy title is automatically reciprocated to male consorts.
Recipients of orders receive no styling of Sir or Dame, but they may attach the according postnominal letters to their name, e.g. John Smith, VC.
For honours bestowed upon those in the entertainment industry, it is an accepted practice to omit the title for professional credits.