The Order of the British Empire reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Order of the British Empire

This article is part of the series British honours system

Order of the Garter

Order of the Thistle

Order of St Patrick

Order of the Bath

Order of the Star of India

Order of St Michael and St George

Order of the Indian Empire

Royal Victorian Order

Order of the British Empire

Order of Merit

Order of the Companions of Honour

Order of the Crown of India

Knights Bachelor

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry within the British honours system and was established in 1917. The motto of the Order is For God and the Empire.

The order has five grades, the top two of which are knightly (post-nominals in parentheses):

• Knight/ Dame Grand Cross (GBE)
• Knight/ Dame Commander (KBE/DBE)
• Commander of Order (CBE)
• Officer of the Order (OBE)
• Member of the Order (MBE)

There is an related British Empire Medal (BEM) which is no longer awarded in the United Kingdom, but is still awarded by some Commonwealth countries.

The Order is limited to 100 Knights and Dames Grand Cross, 845 Knights and Dames Commanders, and 8960 Commanders. Also, no more than 858 Officers and 1464 Members may be appointed per year.

The order has a chapel in the basement of St Paul's Cathedral; but it holds its great services upstairs in the main body of the cathedral.

The insignia:

• The Collar is a silver gilt chain consisting of six medallions bearing the Royal Arms, alternating with six medallions bearing the cypher GRI. Only Knights and Dames Grand Cross are entitled to the collar, which they wear around the neck.
• The Badge is a Cross Patonce, above which is a gold medallion bearing on one side the images of King George V, and his wife Queen Mary within a red circle bearing the motto "For God and the Empire" in gold letters. On the other side is the cypher GRI. Above the medallion is a figure of the Imperial State Crown. Knights and Dames Grand Cross wear the Badge suspended from the Collar. Knights Commander and male Commanders, Officers, and Members wear it on a ribbon worn around the neck, while Dames Commander and female Commanders, Officers, and Members wear it on a bow placed on the left shoulder.
• The Star is an eight-pointed silver figure bearing the same medallion that appears on the Badge. Only Knights and Dames Grand Cross and Knights and Dames Commander are entitled to it.

Although most of the recipients are British or from certain other Commonwealth countries, the honour is occasionally awarded to foreign nationals. Such a recipient is unable to use the appellation "Sir" unless he subsequently becomes a subject of the British monarch (as in the cases of Sir Yehudi Menuhin and Sir Jean Paul Getty, Jr). Furthermore, foreign recipients are not counted insofarasmuch as the limits on membership are concerned.

Notable foreign recipients include:

• Wesley Clark
• Aatos Erkko
• Bob Geldof
• Rudolph Giuliani
• Billy Graham
• Alan Greenspan
• Bob Hope (note: Hope was born in England, but became a US citizen in 1920)
• Steven Spielberg
• Jean Paul Getty, Jr
• Yehudi Menuhin {note: Menuhin was born in the US, but became a British citizen in 1985)
• Pelé
• Andre Previn

See also

• British and Commonwealth orders and decorations
• List of people who have declined a British honour

This is the "Order of the British Empire" reference article from the English Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.