Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India, wearing the Grand Master's mantle, collar and star of the order

The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India was the senior of the three orders of chivalry, now obsolescent, instituted to mark service to the British Raj in the Indian sub-continent.

Raja Sir Tanjore Madhava Rao, KCSI

Shortly after the transfer of government from the Honorable East India Company to the British Crown in 1858, Queen Victoria wrote to Lord Canning, the first Viceroy, suggesting that an order of chivalry might be a means of making a link between the monarch and the country:-

The Statutes might be similar to those of the Garter, the Thistle & the St Patrick. The number of its members to be few, perhaps 20 or 24 … The members to be invested by the Viceroy in person & thus do personal homage to him … The day for the investiture to be the anniversary of the Assumption of the Gov of India by the Crown of England.

By the beginning of 1860 Prince Albert was drafting statutes, drawing up lists of possible members and working on the design of insignia.  The Order was established in June 1861, with the first investitures held - in India and at Windsor - on 1 November 1861.

The Queen, being desirous of affording to the Princes, Chiefs and People of the Indian Empire, a public and signal testimony of Her regard, by the Institution of an Order of knighthood, whereby Her resolution to take upon Herself the Government of the Territories in India may be commemorated, and by which Her Majesty may be enabled to reward conspicuous merit and loyalty, has been graciously pleased, by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to institute, erect, constitute, and create, an Order of Knighthood, to be known by, and have for ever hereafter, the name, style, and designation, of 'The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India'

Sir Umaid Singh Bahadur, GCSI, GCIE, KCVO, Maharaja of Jodhpur

The order originally had one class of members - Knights Commanders (KSI) - but in 1866 was reconstituted in three classes  - Knights Grand Commanders (GCSI), Knights Commanders (KCSI) and Companions (CSI).  The original KSIs were created GCSIs.  The title 'Knight Grand Commander' was chosen in preference to the usual 'Knight Grand Cross' to avoid embarrassment to non-Christian recipients.

As structured in 1866, the order consisted of the sovereign, the Grand Master (the Viceroy and Governor-General of India), 36 GCSIs (18 British and 18 Indian), 85 KCSIs and 170 CSIs. GCSIs were drawn from ruling princes and the top tier of the British administration.  KCSIs and CSI were included members of the Indian Civil Service and army who had given at least 30 years' service.

Women were eligible to be members of the order if they were the princely rulers - the Begum of Bhopal was a founder member in 1861. The statutes were specially amended to permit the admission of Queen Mary as a Knight Grand Commander in 1911.

The order lapsed in 1948, following the independence of India and Pakistan.  The the last surviving member of the order, the Maharaja of Alwar, died in 2009.

Insignia
The insignia was exceptionally splendid.  The last GCSI set, made in 1947, cost £3,500 to produce.

Knights Grand Commanders

Sash, badge and star insignia of a GCSI

A GCSI's insignia consisted of a gold collar and badge, a mantle of light blue satin with a representation of the star on the left and tied with a white silk cord with blue and silver tassles.

The mantle was only worn on special state occasions - in ordinary full dress uniform, a GCSI wore the star on the left breast and the badge on the left hip from a broad sash of light blue edged in white. 

The collar consisted of alternating figures of lotuses, red and white roses and palm branches, with an imperial crown in the centre.  Queen Victoria's collar can be seen here.

The badge was a central onyx cameo of a youthful Victoria set within an openwork and ornamental oval border of gold bearing the motto of the order ‘Heaven’s Light Our Guide’, surmounted by, and pendant from, a five-pointed star with large gold suspension loop, the whole badge being lavishly set with diamonds. 

The breast star had a central five-pointed star of silver set with diamonds and set upon a gold and enameled ribbon bearing the motto of the order in silver and also set with diamonds,

Knights Commanders

Knight Commander's insignia

KCSIs wore a badge round the neck and a star on the left breast.

These were similar to those of GCSIs, but smaller and less lavishly decorated.

Companions

Companion's breast badge

Companions originally wore a breast badge, but from 1917 these were worn at the neck.

Alexandria, Princess of Wales she wears the insignia of a CI and Lady of the Order of Victoria and Albert

At the same time as the establishment of the Order of the Indian Empire, a third Indian order was established, this was the Imperial Order of the Crown of India.  It too was established by letters patent of 31 December 1877, following the adoption by Queen Victoria of the title 'Empress of India' in 1876.

Princess Thyra of Denmark

This order was

to be enjoyed by the Princesses of Our Royal House and the Wives or other female relatives of Indian Princes and others to be by Us selected, upon whom We shall from time to time think fit

These other persons were generally the vicereine and wives of the Governors of Madras, Bombay and Bengal, the Principal Secretary of State for India and the Commander-in-Chief in India.  Women who were ruling members of Indian princely houses were eligible for membership of the Orders of the Star of India and the Indian Empire.

There was one class of membership: Companions (CI).

The insignia was a badge consisting of the royal and imperial monogram VRI in diamonds, turquoises and pearls, surrounded by an oval frame and surmounted by a jewelled imperial crown.


The order went into abeyance on the granting of independence to India and Pakistan.  The last companions appointed were the then Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret on 12 July 1947.  The Queen is the last surviving member of the order.

The last surviving Companion of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India

Lord Northcote, Viceroy, wearing the collar of the order

The Order of the India Empire was the second of the orders of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria to mark meritorious service in India,  in order of precedence after the Order of the Star of India.  It was established by letters patent of 31 December 1877, following the adoption by Victoria of the title 'Empress of India' in 1876.

The Maharaja of Dhrangadhra-Halvad, the last surviving member of the order

It originally consisted one class of membership - Companions - with the Sovereign and the Viceroy as Grand Master.  Members of the Council of the Governor-General were ex officio members.  In 1886 the order was expanded by the addition of Knights Commanders up to a maximum of 50 in number.  In 1887 it was reorganised into three classes: up to 25 Knights Grand Commanders (GCIEs), up to 50 Knights Commanders (KCIEs) and an unlimited number of Companions (CIEs).  As with the Order of the Star of India, the title 'Knight Grand Commander' was chosen rather than 'Knights Grand Cross so as not to offend the non-Christians member of the order.  The Governors of Madras, Bombay and Bengal were ex officio appointed GCIEs.

The order lapsed in 1947, following the independence of India and Pakistan.  The the last surviving member of the order, the Maharaja of Dhrangadhra-Halvad a KCIE, died in 2010.

Knight Grand Commander (GCIE)

The Maharao of Sirohi wearing the mantle, collar and star of a GCIE

A GCIE's insignia consisted of a collar badge and a mantle of imperial purple or dark blue satin with a representation of the star on the left and tied with a white silk cord with gold tassles.

The mantle was only worn on special state occasions - in ordinary full dress uniform, a GCSI wore the star on the left breast and the badge on the left hip from a broad sash.

The collar was a silver-gilt chain composed of elephants, lotus flowers, peacocks in their pride and Indian roses with, in the centre the Imperial Crown.

The badge was a gold five-petalled rose, enamelled crimson and with a green barb between each petal.

In the centre is an effigy of Queen Victoria in gold, surrounded by a purple ribbon originally inscribed VICTORIA IMPERATRIX, but from 1901 IMPERATRICIS AUSPICIIS ('under the auspices of the Empress).  The letters I N D I A were inscribed on the petals of the first type,
but not on the second.

GCIE neck badge

The star was composed of fine silver rays with smaller gold rays between them.; In the centre, within a purple circle bearing the motto of the order and surmounted by the Imperial Crown, is the effigy of Queen Victoria in gold.

GCIE Star

Knights Commander (KCIE)

Sir Charles Augustus Tegart, KCIE, CSI, MVO

KCIEs wore a badge round the neck and a star on the left breast.

These were similar to those of GCIEs, but smaller and less lavishly decorated, the star being entirely of silver.

KCIE Star

Companions (CIE)

CIE breast badge (1st type)

Companions originally wore a breast badge, but from 1917 these were worn at the neck.

As with the insignia of the other classes of the order, these came in two types - with and without the letters I N D I A.

Maj-Gen Sir Charles Metcalfe MacGregor, KCB, CSI, CIE

Sir Francis Younghusband, KCSI, KCIE

Sir Francis Younghusband was an odd mix - soldier, colonial administrator, explorer and mystic.

Francis Edward Younghusband was born at Murree, in the North West Frontier (now Pakistan), on 31 May 1863, the second son of Major (later Major-General) John William Younghusband and his wife, Clara Jane.  His uncle was Robert Shaw, the first Englishman to cross the Himalyas to Yarkland and Kashgar - Francis was to undertake similar work in 'the Great Game', whereby Russia and British India strove for influence in Central Asia.

Afghanistan caught between Russia and Britain in 'the Great Game'

He was educated a Clifton College, near Bristol, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, being commissioned into the 1st (King's) Dragoon Guards in 1882.  In 1886 he joined Sir Henry Evan Murchison James on an expedition into Manchuria and China, visiting areas unseen by Europeans for almost two centuries.  Younghusband returned from Peking to India via the Gobi Desert, the first European to cross it. 

In 1889 he made further ventures into Central Asia north of British India, encountering Capt Grombehevski, who was doing similar work for the Russians.  Younghusband, now a captain, was attached to the Indian foreign department, and spent 1890-91 on a round trip to Kashgar - his encounters with Cossack patrols led to an international incident, and the British government forcing the Russians to back down in their plans to annex large swathes of territory next to Afghanistan.

Younghusband, c.1901

Younghusband published an account of his journeys in 1896 as The Heart of a Continent: A Narrative Of Travels In Manchuria, Across The Gobi Desert, Through The Himalayas The Pamirs And Hanza, which brought him to public attention.  He also accompanied to Chitral Relief Force as a correspondent for the Times (and probably acted in some other, more shadowy, capacity).  He was awarded the Founder's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society and appointed a CIE.

Younghusband was appointed a political officer in Husan and made a friendship with George Curzon (later the 1st Marquis Curzon, Viceroy of India).

He again acted a as corespondent for the Times in 1897-98, this time in South Africa, where he reported on the Jameson Raid, and the disputes which were to lead to the Second Boer War.

In 1902 Curzon appointed Younghusband head of a mission to Tibet, who was feared to be negotiating a settlement with the Russians.  Younghusband, with a military force commanded by J.R.L. Macdonald, exceeded his orders and lead an invasion of the country.  Despite Younghusband's assurances that at 'we are not at war with Tibet and that, unless we are ourselves attacked, we shall not attack the Tibetans' conflict soon arose.  The Tibetans were hopelessly outmatched and a series of what can only be described as massacres followed.

Younghusband and staff in Tibet

Younghusband entered Lhasa in August 1904 and dictated terms to the Tibetan government, which paid an indemnity, recognized the Sikkim-Tibet border, and declared that Tibet would have no relations with any other foreign powers.

The invasion proved controversial in London, but Younghusband was eventually confirmed in his actions and advanced in KCIE.

From 1906 until his retirement in 1909, Younghusband was resident officer in  Kashmir.  He returned to England in 1910, and published India and Tibet.  He became prominent in the Royal Geographical Society, and served as it's president from 1919 to his death.  He was chairman of the Mount Everest Committee, which organised attempts to climb the mountain.  He was appointed KCSI in 1917.

Younghusband had become interested in spiritualism and Eastern Religions.  He published The Life in the Stars in 1927 and The Living Universe in 1933.  He helped in the organisation of the Conference of Religions of the Empire held in London in 1924 and founded the World Congress of Faiths in 1936.  His beliefs became increasingly bizarre, following a vision on the return from Tibet, Younghusband devised a new religion, arguing that there was a Supreme Being on an alien planet influencing events on Earth through telepathy and advocating Free Love.

Younghusband died at Lychett Minster, Dorset, the home of his mistress and follower, Lady Lees, on 31 July 1942.

Orders, Decorations and Medals


Order of the Star of India
Knight Commander (KCSI), 1917






Order of the Indian Empire
Companion (CIE), 1896
Knight Commander (KCIE), 1905






Kaisar-i-Hind Medal (in Gold), 1901












Tibet Medal

The press are reporting new moves to repatriate the Koh-i-Noor diamond to the Punjab.  This is nothing new - the Indians requested the diamond’s return in 1947 and again in 1953, the year of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Then, in 1976, Pakistan joined in, asserting its ownership of the gem.  Further claims were made when the Queen made her state visit in 1997, and David Cameron squashed similar demands as recently as 2010. 

So this comes up every so often, but it's a good excuse to write about a nice bit of glitter.  It also prompts me to put a post on Duleep Singh onto my to-do list, so watch this space.
 

The Koh-i-Nor was acquired by the Crown in 1850, when Duleep Singh ceded it following the East India Company's conquest of the Punjab - as laid out in a clause of the Treaty of Lahore.  The argument for repatriation is that Duleep Singh didn't have the authority to alienate a part of Punjab's patrimony.  However, the diamond had only been in the Singh's hands for a generation.

The early history of the jewel is unclear.  It may have been discovered in the twelfth century, but the first confirmed mention is when it was acquired by Babur, the first of the Moguls, in 1526.  It was known as 'Babur's Diamond' for the next 200 years.  At some stage it was mounted in the Mogul's Peacock Throne.  The throne formed part of the booty taken by Nadir, Shah of Persia, following the fall of Delhi in 1738.  At that time it was described thus:

The Peacock Throne

in form like one of our field beds, six feet long and four broad. The cushion at the base is round like a bolster: the cushions on the sides are flat. The underpart of the canopy is all embroidered with pearls and diamonds, with a fringe of pearls round about. Upon the top of the canopy, which is made like an arch with four panes, stands a peacock with his tail spread, consisting all of saphirs and other proper colored stones. The body is of beaten gold enchas'd with several jewels, and a great ruby upon his breast, at which hangs a pearl that weighs 50 carats. On each side of the peacock stand two nosegays as high as the bird, consisting of several sorts of flowers, all of beaten gold enamelled. When the king seats himself upon the throne there is a transparent jewel with a diamond appendant of eighty or ninety carats, encompass'd with rubies and emeralds, so hung that it is always in his eye. The twelve pillars also that uphold the canopy are set with rows of fair pearl, round, and of excellent water, that weigh from six to ten carats apiece. This is the famous throne which Tamerlane began and Cha Jehan finish'd, which is really reported to have cost 160 million and 500,000 livres of our money.

Ranjit Singh

On Nadir's assassination in 1747, the jewel was acquired by Ahmed Abdali, one of his generals, who on the break-up of the Persian empire became Emir of Afghanistan as Ahmed Shah Durrani.  The Durrani empire was no more stable than any other in the region and following more bloody adventures the diamond left the country with Shuja Shah Durrani in 1813.  It was seized from him by Ranjit Singh, the 'Lion of the Punjab' in return for help in regaining the Afghan throne.  It was Ranjit's son, Kharak Signh who was deposed by the British.   The Koh-i-Noor was presented to Queen Victoria by the 13-year-old Duleep Singh in 1850


The stone weighed in at just over 186 carats, but was disappointing in appearance to western eyes.  Lord Dalhousie, who had enforced the Treaty of Lahore, said 'the Koh-i-Noor is badly cut - it is rose-cut, not -brilliant, and of course won’t sparkle like the latter.'  The diamond was displayed at the Great Exhibition, where it received a mixed review from the Times:-

The Koh-i-noor is at present decidedly the lion of the Exhibition. A mysterious interest appears to be attached to it, and now that so many precautions have been restored to, and so much difficulty attends its inspection, the crowd is enormously enhanced, and the policemen at either end of the covered entrance have much trouble in restraining the struggling and impatient multitude. For some hours yesterday there were never less than a couple of hundred persons waiting their turn of admission, and yet, after all, the diamond does not satisfy. Either from the imperfect cutting or the difficulty of placing the lights advantageously, or the immovability of the stone itself, which should be made to revolve on its axis, few catch any of the brilliant rays it reflects when viewed at a particular angle

On display at the Great Exhibition

The decision was made to re-cut the diamond, and Messrs Coster of Amsterdam were given the job, the first cut being done by the Duke of Wellington. Thirty-eight days and £8,000 later it emerged as an 'stellar brilliant' weighing just under 109 carats.  Prince Albert was unimpressed by such a radical reduction and said so in the clearest terms.  In 1853 Garrards mounted it in a tiara for the Queen which contained more than two thousand diamonds. Five years later Queen Victoria ordered a new regal circlet for the Koh-I-Noor which they delivered the following year.

Queen Mary wearing her crown as a circlet

Then in 1911 Garrards made a new crown which Queen Mary wore for the coronation: it contained only diamonds, among them the Koh-i-Noor and the Cullinan III and Cullinan IV. It could be worn as an eight half-arch crown or a circlet.  For the 1937 coronation a new consort's crown was created for Queen Elizabeth, which similarly could be worn as a crown or circlet, and the Koh-i-Noor transferred to it. The Koh-i-Noor is set in the maltese cross at the front of the crown.

The consort's crown resting on the coffin of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, 2002