Knight Bachelor

The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man

Knight Bachelor
who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a
member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of
the British honours system.[1] Knights Bachelor are the most
ancient sort of British knight[2] (the rank existed during the 13th-
century reign of King Henry III), but Knights Bachelor rank below
knights of chivalric orders. A man who is knighted is formally
addressed as "Sir [First Name] [Surname]" or "Sir [First Name]"
and his wife as "Lady [Surname]".

Contents
The insignia of a knight bachelor
Criteria
devised in 1926
Honorifics and post-nominal letters
Awarded by

Insignia Monarch of the United Kingdom

Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor Awarded for Public service
Equivalence Status Currently
See also constituted
Notes Sovereign Charles III
References Knight Sir Gary
External links Principal Hickinbottom

Ribbon bar of the Knight Bachelor

Criteria Medal

Knighthood is usually conferred for public service; amongst its recipients are all male judges of His
Majesty's High Court of Justice in England. It is possible to be a Knight Bachelor and a junior member of
an order of chivalry without being a knight of that order; this situation has become rather common,
especially among those recognized for achievements in entertainment. For instance, Sir Michael Gambon,
Sir Derek Jacobi, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sir Elton John, Sir Michael Caine, Sir Barry Gibb and Sir Ian
McKellen are Commanders of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBEs); Sir Patrick Stewart,
Sir Tom Jones and Sir Van Morrison are Officers of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
(OBEs); while Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr) are Members of the Most
Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE). None of them would be entitled to use the honorific "Sir" by
virtue of their membership of the order alone, but as they are all also Knights Bachelor, they are entitled to
preface their names with that title.

Honorifics and post-nominal letters

Knights Bachelor may prefix "Sir" to their forenames and wives of Knights may prefix "Lady" to their
surnames.[1][3][4] Since recipients are not knights of an order of chivalry there are no post-nominal letters
associated with the honour,[5] however when the style "Sir" is awkward or incomplete because of a
subsequent appointment, recipients may use the letters "Kt" after their name (the lowercase "t"
distinguishing it from "KT"). This style is often adopted by Knights Bachelor who are also peers, baronets,
or knights of the various chivalric orders.[3] In legal and official documents "Knight" should be added after
the name instead of "Kt".[4]

Insignia
Until 1926 Knights Bachelor had no insignia which they could wear, but in that year King George V
issued a warrant authorising the wearing of a badge on all appropriate occasions by Knights Bachelor; this
badge is worn on the left side of the coat or outer garment. Measuring 23 ⁄8 inches (60 mm) in length and
13 ⁄8 inches (35 mm) in width, it is described in heraldic terms as follows:[6]

Upon an oval medallion of vermilion, enclosed by a scroll a cross-hilted sword belted and
sheathed, pommel upwards, between two spurs, rowels upwards, the whole set about with the
sword belt, all gilt.

In 1974, Queen Elizabeth II issued a further warrant authorising the wearing on appropriate occasions of a
neck badge, slightly smaller in size, and in miniature. In 1988 a new certificate of authentication, a knight's
only personal documentation, was designed by the College of Arms.[6]

Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor

The Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor[7] was founded for the maintenance and consolidation of the
Dignity of Knights Bachelor in 1908, and obtained official recognition from the Sovereign in 1912. The
Society keeps records of all Knights Bachelor, in their interest.

Equivalence
There is no female counterpart to Knight Bachelor. The lowest knightly honour that can be conferred upon
a woman is Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE), which is one
rank higher than Knight Bachelor (being the female equivalent of KBE or Knight Commander of the Most
Excellent Order of the British Empire, which is the next male knightly rank above Knight Bachelor).

Only citizens of Commonwealth realms can be created Knights Bachelor; people of other nationalities are
generally made honorary KBEs.[8]

See also
Knight banneret
Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood
British honours system § Knighthood
List of Knights Bachelor

Notes
 1. "The British Honours System" (http://www.churchill-society-london.org.uk/HnrSystm.html).
www.churchill-society-london.org.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
2. Neave, F.G.; Turner, Grange (1930). Mozley & Whiteley's Law Dictionary (5th ed.). London:
Butterworth & Co. p. 183.
3. "Form of address" (https://iskb.frb.io/society-today/information). Imperial Society of Knights
Bachelor. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
4. "Knight Bachelor" (https://web.archive.org/web/20140405124949/http://www.debretts.com/fo
rms-address/titles/knight/knight-bachelor). Forms of address. Debrett's. Archived from the
original (http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/titles/knight/knight-bachelor) on 5 April
2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
5. "Orders of Chivalry" (https://web.archive.org/web/20070819024713/http://www.honours.gov.
uk/honours/chivalry.aspx). British Government. Archived from the original (http://www.honour
s.gov.uk/honours/chivalry.aspx) on 19 August 2007. Retrieved 30 August 2007.
6. Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage 2019 (https://www.debretts.com/product/debretts-peerage/).
Debrett's. 2019. ISBN 9781999767006.
7. "Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor" (https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/wiki/Impe
rial_Society_of_Knights_Bachelor). Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
8. "Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor" (http://www.iskb.co.uk/history.htm). www.iskb.co.uk.
Retrieved 23 May 2017.

References
Insignia of knights bachelor (https://www.iskb.co.uk/insignia)—Website of the Imperial
Society of Knights Bachelor
The UK Honours System (http://www.direct.gov.uk/honours)—Website UK Government
Debrett's (https://web.archive.org/web/20050711013704/http://www.debretts.co.uk/)

External links
Media related to Knights Bachelor at Wikimedia Commons

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Knight_Bachelor&oldid=1109595799"

This page was last edited on 10 September 2022, at 20:06 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0;

additional terms may apply. By
using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.