The most exclusive club in the world
By ROBERT HARDMAN
10th October 2007
Daily Mail
From Florence Nightingale to Margaret Thatcher, its 24 members are the greatest figures of their age. And today, the Queen will introduce her latest recruit...
There will be no grand fanfare, no elaborate procession. The dress code is nothing more onerous than lounge suits, and few people will give a second glance to the cars crunching across the Buckingham Palace gravel this morning.
Passers-by will have to look closely to spot that these arrivals all have one thing in common. They will be wearing a small blue and crimson cross with a tiny laurel wreath in the centre and an even tinier gold inscription which reads: 'For Merit.'
It is a modest-looking decoration (it is, officially, a badge) for a pretty modest bunch. But it signifies membership of what is the most exclusive club in the world.
This is a club with no premises — and your badge must be handed back when you die. Neither pedigree nor influential friends carry any clout. No amount of sucking up or political backhanders can secure entry to a membership which is limited to 24 of the most illustrious people on the planet.
And when they all sit down for lunch with the Queen today, it will be only the seventh occasion in more than a century that they have all assembled. It is hard to imagine a more interesting collection of lunching companions.
In the 105 years since its creation, the Order of Merit has had a total of just 174 members, ranging from Thomas Hardy and Sir Edward Elgar to Florence Nightingale, Henry Moore and Sir Winston Churchill.
Considering that the present crop of those with the initials OM after their names includes Lady Thatcher and Sir David Attenborough, there is nothing to suggest the calibre of membership is flagging.
But this is not just an elite society for exalted household names. Most members are not instantly recognisable. Everyone invited to today's lunch, however, is a serious and substantial figure in his or her own field.
From the arts, there will be the playwright Sir Tom Stoppard, the artist Lucian Freud and the opera singer Dame Joan Sutherland. From the world of science, there will be the mathematician Sir Roger Penrose, the zoologist Lord May and the Nobel Prize-winning inventor of the beta-blocker, Sir James Black.
Florence Nightingale - aka The Lady With The Lamp - looked after sick and injured British soldiers during the Crimean War in the 1850s
Before the other guests arrive, the Queen will have a private chat with the newest member of the Order of Merit and then present him with his badge. No one can argue about his merits — among other things, Sir Tim Berners-Lee is the inventor of the World Wide Web.
Most people, on being invited to a small luncheon with the sovereign, would admit to a few nerves. In this case, the Queen could be forgiven if she isn't harbouring a few worries. After all, how do you start the small talk when greeting a formidable intellect such as Sir Aaron Klug, winner of the Nobel Prize for his development of crystallographic electron microscopy?
Having bestowed the Order of Merit on Graham Greene and E.M. Forster, I doubt the Queen has ever opted for an opening gambit such as: 'Read any good books lately?' So how did this dizzyingly illustrious club come into being? And how on earth do you become a member?
You do not join, of course. You are invited personally by the monarch with no detailed reason given for your selection. Unlike the bulk of the honours system, there is no political interference — and politicians remain a rare breed within the order.
Margaret Thatcher was made an OM within days of being driven from No 10 — Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, Jim Callaghan, John Major and Tony Blair did not receive such an invitation. Royal observers have suggested the Queen had been shocked by the brutal way in which Mrs Thatcher (as she then was) had been treated by her own party and was also keen to salute Britain's first woman Prime Minister.
Originally, there was a strong military dimension. This has disappeared under the Queen, who is the first to stage reunions for her OMs.
King Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and her Empire, and Emperor of India (reigned 1901-1910)
But all monarchs have remained true to the principles of the founding father, Edward VII.
He wanted an honour to recognise subjects of the Crown who had performed 'exceptionally meritorious service' in the Forces, arts, literature and science. Over time, this was extended to include 'such other exceptional service as we see fit'.
While there can be no more than 24 ordinary members, there is also an unspecified number of honorary members from foreign countries. The honour carries no title, but places the holder just below a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in the bewildering panoply of precedence.
The OM is certainly not the only honour in the gift of the monarch rather than the Government. The Queen personally appoints knights and ladies of the Order of the Garter in England and the Order of the Thistle in Scotland, both of which are restricted in number.
These orders tend to be made up of aristocrats, retired politicians and public figures in the royal orbit. There is also the Royal Victorian Order for royal staff.
But Edward VII wanted something which would be a signal of distinction. He had been impressed by Frederick the Great's Prussian order, which recognised brilliance in the forces, arts and sciences.
Edward's first batch of 12 members was evenly split between military men, including Lord Kitchener, scientists including Lord Lister, and writers.
In later years, he was to include the first female member, Florence Nightingale. While this is often hailed as an example of enlightened Edwardian thinking, the king had never intended his order to include women. In a new history of the club, The Order Of Merit, former diplomat Stanley Martin reveals just how opposed Edward VII was to the idea.
It was only after sustained persuasion by two prime ministers over several years that the king reluctantly agreed to include the Lady with the Lamp.
Nor did he bestow the honour in person. The founder of modern nursing was 88 and on her sickbed when the king sent his Comptroller to her house with the badge. 'Too kind,' Florence is reported to have murmured on receiving her badge. 'Too kind . . .' It was nearly 60 years before another woman was appointed — the Oxford chemist, Professor Dorothy Hodgkin.
Over the years, the order became a human canvas of the great events and achievements of the 20th century. George V appointed Thomas Hardy, Sir James Barrie (creator of Peter Pan) and Sir Edward Elgar, as well as World War I Commanders-in- Chief Admiral Beatty and Earl Haig. George VI's appointments included the founder of the Scouting movement Lord Baden-Powell and the socialist reformer Sidney Webb.
Not everyone accepted. Rudyard Kipling made strenuous efforts to resist many honours, including the OM. But others have regarded it as the ultimate accolade. The painter Augustus John would not accept a knighthood, but was delighted to become an OM. The Queen has appointed more OMs than any other monarch, including all but one of the eight women members. Her most recent female appointment, in 2005, was Baroness Boothroyd, the first woman Speaker of the Commons.
She appointed Nelson Mandela an honorary OM during a state visit to South Africa in 1995. On her Silver Jubilee in 1977, the Queen began the tradition of an OM reunion lunch every five years. 'When I look at those who have been members before me, I feel totally humbled,' says Lord Eames, the former Anglican Primate of All Ireland and a recent appointment to the order.
'But what makes it so exceptional is that it is Her Majesty's own gift. There's no political party behind it at all.'
Hugo Vickers, royal historian and author of Royal Orders, regards it as one of the most cherished accolades. 'For great men and women, there are only three honours which matter: a peerage, the Order of the Garter or Thistle and the Order of Merit.'
A handful have collected all three — Lady Thatcher and Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee among them. The OM remains unsullied by the cash for honours scandal. It really does stand for something.
Today's luncheon guests at the Palace will be there because that tiny inscription on their badges means what it says.
However much it may pain class warriors, the ultimate symbol of modern meritocracy remains beyond reproach for the simple reason that it is safely in the hands of a hereditary monarch.
dailymail.co.uk
By ROBERT HARDMAN
10th October 2007
Daily Mail
From Florence Nightingale to Margaret Thatcher, its 24 members are the greatest figures of their age. And today, the Queen will introduce her latest recruit...
There will be no grand fanfare, no elaborate procession. The dress code is nothing more onerous than lounge suits, and few people will give a second glance to the cars crunching across the Buckingham Palace gravel this morning.
Passers-by will have to look closely to spot that these arrivals all have one thing in common. They will be wearing a small blue and crimson cross with a tiny laurel wreath in the centre and an even tinier gold inscription which reads: 'For Merit.'
It is a modest-looking decoration (it is, officially, a badge) for a pretty modest bunch. But it signifies membership of what is the most exclusive club in the world.
This is a club with no premises — and your badge must be handed back when you die. Neither pedigree nor influential friends carry any clout. No amount of sucking up or political backhanders can secure entry to a membership which is limited to 24 of the most illustrious people on the planet.
And when they all sit down for lunch with the Queen today, it will be only the seventh occasion in more than a century that they have all assembled. It is hard to imagine a more interesting collection of lunching companions.
In the 105 years since its creation, the Order of Merit has had a total of just 174 members, ranging from Thomas Hardy and Sir Edward Elgar to Florence Nightingale, Henry Moore and Sir Winston Churchill.
Considering that the present crop of those with the initials OM after their names includes Lady Thatcher and Sir David Attenborough, there is nothing to suggest the calibre of membership is flagging.
But this is not just an elite society for exalted household names. Most members are not instantly recognisable. Everyone invited to today's lunch, however, is a serious and substantial figure in his or her own field.
From the arts, there will be the playwright Sir Tom Stoppard, the artist Lucian Freud and the opera singer Dame Joan Sutherland. From the world of science, there will be the mathematician Sir Roger Penrose, the zoologist Lord May and the Nobel Prize-winning inventor of the beta-blocker, Sir James Black.
Florence Nightingale - aka The Lady With The Lamp - looked after sick and injured British soldiers during the Crimean War in the 1850s
Before the other guests arrive, the Queen will have a private chat with the newest member of the Order of Merit and then present him with his badge. No one can argue about his merits — among other things, Sir Tim Berners-Lee is the inventor of the World Wide Web.
Most people, on being invited to a small luncheon with the sovereign, would admit to a few nerves. In this case, the Queen could be forgiven if she isn't harbouring a few worries. After all, how do you start the small talk when greeting a formidable intellect such as Sir Aaron Klug, winner of the Nobel Prize for his development of crystallographic electron microscopy?
Having bestowed the Order of Merit on Graham Greene and E.M. Forster, I doubt the Queen has ever opted for an opening gambit such as: 'Read any good books lately?' So how did this dizzyingly illustrious club come into being? And how on earth do you become a member?
You do not join, of course. You are invited personally by the monarch with no detailed reason given for your selection. Unlike the bulk of the honours system, there is no political interference — and politicians remain a rare breed within the order.
Margaret Thatcher was made an OM within days of being driven from No 10 — Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, Jim Callaghan, John Major and Tony Blair did not receive such an invitation. Royal observers have suggested the Queen had been shocked by the brutal way in which Mrs Thatcher (as she then was) had been treated by her own party and was also keen to salute Britain's first woman Prime Minister.
Originally, there was a strong military dimension. This has disappeared under the Queen, who is the first to stage reunions for her OMs.
King Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and her Empire, and Emperor of India (reigned 1901-1910)
But all monarchs have remained true to the principles of the founding father, Edward VII.
He wanted an honour to recognise subjects of the Crown who had performed 'exceptionally meritorious service' in the Forces, arts, literature and science. Over time, this was extended to include 'such other exceptional service as we see fit'.
While there can be no more than 24 ordinary members, there is also an unspecified number of honorary members from foreign countries. The honour carries no title, but places the holder just below a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in the bewildering panoply of precedence.
The OM is certainly not the only honour in the gift of the monarch rather than the Government. The Queen personally appoints knights and ladies of the Order of the Garter in England and the Order of the Thistle in Scotland, both of which are restricted in number.
These orders tend to be made up of aristocrats, retired politicians and public figures in the royal orbit. There is also the Royal Victorian Order for royal staff.
But Edward VII wanted something which would be a signal of distinction. He had been impressed by Frederick the Great's Prussian order, which recognised brilliance in the forces, arts and sciences.
Edward's first batch of 12 members was evenly split between military men, including Lord Kitchener, scientists including Lord Lister, and writers.
In later years, he was to include the first female member, Florence Nightingale. While this is often hailed as an example of enlightened Edwardian thinking, the king had never intended his order to include women. In a new history of the club, The Order Of Merit, former diplomat Stanley Martin reveals just how opposed Edward VII was to the idea.
It was only after sustained persuasion by two prime ministers over several years that the king reluctantly agreed to include the Lady with the Lamp.
Nor did he bestow the honour in person. The founder of modern nursing was 88 and on her sickbed when the king sent his Comptroller to her house with the badge. 'Too kind,' Florence is reported to have murmured on receiving her badge. 'Too kind . . .' It was nearly 60 years before another woman was appointed — the Oxford chemist, Professor Dorothy Hodgkin.
Over the years, the order became a human canvas of the great events and achievements of the 20th century. George V appointed Thomas Hardy, Sir James Barrie (creator of Peter Pan) and Sir Edward Elgar, as well as World War I Commanders-in- Chief Admiral Beatty and Earl Haig. George VI's appointments included the founder of the Scouting movement Lord Baden-Powell and the socialist reformer Sidney Webb.
Not everyone accepted. Rudyard Kipling made strenuous efforts to resist many honours, including the OM. But others have regarded it as the ultimate accolade. The painter Augustus John would not accept a knighthood, but was delighted to become an OM. The Queen has appointed more OMs than any other monarch, including all but one of the eight women members. Her most recent female appointment, in 2005, was Baroness Boothroyd, the first woman Speaker of the Commons.
She appointed Nelson Mandela an honorary OM during a state visit to South Africa in 1995. On her Silver Jubilee in 1977, the Queen began the tradition of an OM reunion lunch every five years. 'When I look at those who have been members before me, I feel totally humbled,' says Lord Eames, the former Anglican Primate of All Ireland and a recent appointment to the order.
'But what makes it so exceptional is that it is Her Majesty's own gift. There's no political party behind it at all.'
Hugo Vickers, royal historian and author of Royal Orders, regards it as one of the most cherished accolades. 'For great men and women, there are only three honours which matter: a peerage, the Order of the Garter or Thistle and the Order of Merit.'
A handful have collected all three — Lady Thatcher and Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee among them. The OM remains unsullied by the cash for honours scandal. It really does stand for something.
Today's luncheon guests at the Palace will be there because that tiny inscription on their badges means what it says.
However much it may pain class warriors, the ultimate symbol of modern meritocracy remains beyond reproach for the simple reason that it is safely in the hands of a hereditary monarch.
dailymail.co.uk
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