The appointment of the Knights and Ladies of the Garter is in The Queen’s gift, without Prime Ministerial advice. Queen Elizabeth has appointed Felipe VI, King of Spain, a Stranger Knight in 2017 and Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands as a Stranger Knight in 2018. As we all know, both Kings attended this year’s Garter Service.
Another fun fact is that our very generous contributor Gert-Jan de Wit was in attendance at Windsor and has graciously allowed us to share some of his photos! (You can see more of his work by taking a look back at the Corps Diplomatique Dinner posts) and by clicking on his name to see his website. A huge thank you to Gert-Jan for always being so supportive of the Handbag–we can’t thank you enough! Let’s get started!
Elizabeth II has also created other Stranger Knights in the past. Time for you to show us your research skills and show us your favorite photos of Garter Days past including Stranger Knights in the comments!
Here’s a hint: start with relatives of those Kings we see here in Gert-Jan’s amazing photos!