Today in History: April 23rd-Guardian Medal

This day is in history: April 23rd, 1348

The noblest Guardian Medal is the oldest and most exclusive military and civilian honor in Britain. At any time, the order only includes the monarch, the Prince of Wales and 25 carefully selected knights who serve the country in an exemplary way, hold public office or personally serve the king or queen.

The origin of this order is controversial, because the earliest record of its existence was destroyed by the fire. The traditional legend is that Edward III hopes to bring back the era of Camelot and King Arthur's Round Table. On April 23rd, 1348, when a court lady who was traditionally regarded as his future daughter-in-law Joan of Kent lost a garter, he saw an excellent opportunity to show chivalry.

When the lady's garter fell to the ground, she was embarrassed by the snickering of the man next to her. The king bravely came to help her. He picked up the garter and made it into his own leg. Then, he warned the courtiers with a sentence that is still the motto of the Knights: "Honi soit qui mal y pense" or "Evil people think evil". The king held a grand banquet and competition to celebrate the birth of the Knights. It is estimated that everyone had a good time.

There are many famous Guardian knights, but joining such an exclusive club is not always enough to save a person from the executioner's block (36 people were beheaded and 6 were beheaded by Henry VIII) or get boots. During World War II, the Japanese emperor and the Italian king were deprived of the status of "extra knights", and their swords and crowns were removed from St. George's Church in Windsor.

Winston Churchill declined this honor in 1945. His party has just been elected to step down, and he feels that "after the people gave me the order of boots, it is difficult for him to accept the king's order of garters." Churchill finally gave in and joined the order in 1953.

For most of its existence, this command was reserved for aristocrats, but today garter knights come from different backgrounds. If there is a vacancy in a certain year, the lucky couple will be announced on April 23, the anniversary of St. George's Day (St. George's Day) and St. George's Day (St. George's Day). Every June, garter knights gather at Windsor Castle. Any new knight will be sworn and awarded a medal, and then they will have a big lunch. Then they put on fashionable blue velvet robes, shiny order badges, black velvet hats and elastic white feathers, worthy of Steven Taylor or the pimp of the 197s.

The last lady who was put on the order until recently was Margaret beaufort, the formidable Tudor matriarch, the mother of henry vii and the grandmother of Henry VIII. Even this solemn figure did not enjoy all the honors of membership. After her death in 159, the club became a boys' club, except for the ruling monarch and a queen's spouse, Queen Alexandra, the wife of Edward VII.

The current Queen Elizabeth II decided in 1987 that the time had come for equal rights in the garter order. It's hardly 5/5, but at least they are finally included in the ranks.

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