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Numerous inconsistencies in the constitution, or in the details of the Orders ofBritish Knighthood, have been pointed out in treating of their respective his-tories ; but the most remarkable anomalies relate to the Precedency of thoseInstitutions among each other, and the rank to which their Members areentitled.

While the Precedency of Knights of the Garter is defined with sufficientclearness, the Knights of the Thistle and of Saint Patrick have never had anyprecise place assigned to them in England. In the Statutes of the Order of theThistle, there is not one word on the subject; and though an express provisionis made in the Warrant of Foundation of the Order of Saint Patrick for thePrecedency of the Knights, the Statutes are silent; and it would be impossibleto give effect to that Warrant in this Country, without placing the Knights ofthat Order above the Knights of the Garter, which could never have beenintended. A Statute of the Order of the Garter, made by Queen Elizabeth in1571, declares that the Knights of that Noble Order shall “ go above all otherKnights,” and that “ in the low Parliament House, shall sit above all otherDegrees, within the said House, next unto the Treasurer and Comptroller ofHer Majesty’s Household, bearing white Staves.” 1 Within the Order, theKnights take place among each other according to the position of their Stalls,and not according to their hereditary or official rank.

According to the Decree of King Charles the First, in 1626, the Knightsof the Bath and their Wives were to rank before all Knights Bachelors andtheir Wives; 2 which Precedency was confirmed to the new Knights and theirsuccessors, and their Wives, on the Revival of the Order in 1725. 3 By the

1 History of the Order of the Garter, p. 194.

2 History of the Order of the Bath, p. 37. 3 Ibid. p. 57. Statutes, Art. XI.