From mediaeval times to the Coronation of King Charles II, Knights of the Bath were appointed, not as part of an Order of Chivalry but rather as a stand-alone accolade by the Monarch or a Lord. It was customary in England to confer a Knighthood upon individuals in recognition of their great military achievements, the ceremony often taking place on the battlefield involving bathing as a form of purification. Bathing was then regarded as symbolic rather than sanitary; the inner soul was purified by fasting, vigils and prayer, and the body was cleansed by bathing. For many, this ritual was completed in preparation for receiving their Knighthood and subsequently they became known as a Knight of the Bath; a Military accolade which eventually fell into disuse.
In the early 18th century, with the intention of creating opportunities to receive honours, Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole and Garter King of Arms John Anstis petitioned King George I to create a new Order of Chivalry by reviving the Military Knights of the Bath and formalising it as an Order of Chivalry. The King agreed and John Anstis was tasked with drafting the Statutes (similar to those of the Order of the Garter) and designing the insignia. The motto, ‘tria juncta in uno,’ (three joined in one) had been used by the Knights of the Bath and was adopted as the motto for the Order. On the 18th May 1725, King George I formally established a Military Order of Chivalry to be known as the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, founded on the principles and rituals previously observed by the Knights of the Bath. The Order was instituted with a single class known as Knight Companion (KB), with 35 appointments available.
The Statutes set out 7 officers within the Order, including the roles of Sovereign and Great Master; the first of whom was John Montagu, second Duke of Montagu and Principal Knight Companion. The Henry VII Chapel at Westminster Abbey was designated the official Chapel of the Order and the first installation of Knights took place in the Chapel on the 21st June 1725. The installation of armorial Chapel Stall plates was included in the ceremony; a tradition that still takes place today.
In 1815 the Prince Regent (later George IV) found it necessary to reward many distinguished Army and Naval Officers at the end of the Napoleonic Wars and decided to expand the Order from a single class to three classes; Knight Grand Cross, Knight Commander, and Companion. New appointees were required to reach a certain military level in order to be considered for an award. Additionally, and for the first time, the restructure also allowed provision for admitting a small number of distinguished civilians to the highest level. The expansion of the Order and its enlarged membership was not greeted with great enthusiasm by existing Members, who saw the increase in appointments as reducing the Order’s value. It was during this restructure that the decision was formally taken to abolish the rites of bathing, vigils and other preparations for installation to the Order, although in practice these had not been followed since the reign of King Charles II. The Order went through a further restructure in 1847 when Queen Victoria issued new Statutes for the Order to reflect the ‘altered state and circumstances of society.’ The word ‘military’ was removed from the title of the Order and civilian appointments were made to all levels.
The installation ceremony for Knights Grand Cross, which had become infrequent since the first installation in 1725, was revived in the early years of the reign of King George V. The first service took place on 22nd July 1913 when 46 Knights Grand Cross were installed. Banners, Crests, and Mantles were, and still are, included as decoration for the Stalls in the Chapel, each Stall allocated to a Knight Grand Cross and held for their lifetime. In addition to the armorial plates that had been the original identification of the Stall holder. The installation ceremony continues to take place in the Order’s Chapel at Westminster Abbey to this day and follows the same format used in 1913.
It was not until 1971 that women were admitted to both divisions of the Order, the first being Jean Nunn who became a Companion of the Order in the New Year’s Honours list of that year. She was followed by Princess Alice, The Duchess of Gloucester, who became a Dame Grand Cross in 1975. The second Dame Grand Cross, and first to be appointed since Princess Alice was Professor Dame Sally Davies in the New Year’s Honours list in 2020.
The previous Great Master, the former Prince of Wales, was appointed on the 28th May 1975 and was installed by Queen Elizabeth II in a service to mark the 250th Anniversary of the Order.