The Order in Great Britain
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In the first 75 years of the 20th century the Anglo-Neapolitan families of Acton and Winspeare were again the mainstay of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order in Great Britain. Sir Harold Acton, (below left) famous for his two-volume history of the Bourbons of Naples, In 1975, Major-General Viscount Monckton of Brenchley (below left), (President of the British Association of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta from 1974 to 1983), Viscount Furness, John Brooke-Little and Sir Conrad Swan, who later served as Garter King of Arms, were among others invested into the Order. In 1988 Dr Colin Smythe was appointed Chargé d'Affaires of the Delegation and remained in office until 1992. The Rt Rev Mgr Adrian Arrowsmith, Canon of Westminster Cathedral, Members of the Recusant aristocracy were also invested including HMEH Frà Andrew Bertie, Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. The late Lord High Chancellor, Lord Hailsham of Saint Marylebone, was also appointed a medallist of the Constantinian Order. Among other knights invested at this time included acclaimed author, Dr Peter Bander-van Duren. The Delegation and its activities grew considerably from 2000-2010 onwards under delegates Lord Belhaven and Stenton (2000-2003), Mr Anthony Bailey (2003-2006) and Lord Brennan of Bibury QC (2006-2009).
The delegation membership in Britain today includes a Prime Minister, Royalty, Peers of the Realm, judges and lawyers, Members of Parliament, authors, charity workers, diplomats, businessmen, ministers, civil leaders, interfaith campaigners, military leaders and senior clergy. Among them are HMEH Frà Matthew Festing, current Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, HSH Princess Marie-Therese von Hohenberg, Mrs Anthony Bailey, Sister Ellen Flynn of the Passage Homeless Centre, The Dowager Marchioness of Salisbury (medalist), The Duchess of Norfolk, the Chief Minister of Gilbraltar Peter Caruana, QC, current Vice Delegate for England Professor The Lord Alton of Liverpool, Captain Peregrine Bertie, President of the British Association of the Order of Malta (1996-2001), the Lord High Constable of Scotland,the Earl of Erroll (medalist), former Chief of the Defence Staff General The Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank, former Attorney General Baroness Scotland of Asthal, QC, and former MP Ann Widdecombe. The senior dame of the Delegation in Britain is Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent (left) who was invested into the Sacred Military Constantinian Order in Within the Royal Order of Francis I, which is not exclusively Roman Catholic in nature, are foreign royalty, a former prime minister, charity workers, artists, cabinet ministers, barristers, academics, inter-faith leaders, businessmen and Members of Parliament. Among them are the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams and his predecessor Lord Carey of Clifton, The Duke of Westminster, HRH Princess Katarina of Yugoslavia, Lord Lingfield, Lord Denmnan, inter-faith leader Sir Sigmund Sternberg, Baroness Thatcher, Albert Roux, Greek Orthodox Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira and Great Britain, Syrian Orthodox Archbishop Athanasius Toma Dawod, President of the Board of British Jews, Vivian Wineman, as well as a number of current or past Ambassadors accredited to the Court of St James's. The current British and Irish delegate is HE Mr Anthony Bailey (bottom right) who also serves as Order’s The Delegation of Great Britain and Ireland supports numerous worthy Roman Catholic charities and organisations and observes the Order's feast days, particularly the Feast of Saint George (23 April), and the Glorification of the Cross (14 September).
Among the charitable causes supported in Britain are: The Passage Homeless Centre, St Thomas Fund, Westminster Cathedral, St Dunstan's, The Schola of the London Oratory School, Tyburn Convent and Shrine, the Apostolic Nunciature in Serbia, the All-Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group within the British Parliament, and many of the international charitable and humanitarian initiatives of the Grand Magistry in Rome. |
The first known British subject to be invested into the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George was Captain William D'Arley, who received the decoration from King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (left) in 1801. In the same year, he obtained a Royal Licence from King George III of Great Britain (right) which permitted him to be styled as "Sir William" and to wear the Order's decoration at Court. In 1810, Sir John Carr was invested into the Order's ranks. Several members of the Winspeare and Acton families, who had close ties to the Royal Neapolitan Court, were also invested in the middle of the nineteenth century. In 1883, the industrialist and inventor, Sir Edward Thomason, was invested into the Order's ranks.
became a Constantinian knight.
became the new Prior of the delegation and placed a special Chapelof the Pro-Cathedral of London at the disposal of the knights and dames.
1996. His Eminence Cormac, Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor, 
Archbishop Emeritus of Westminster is the current Prior of the British and Irish Delegation. Since 2001, The Most Rev George Stack, Archbishop of Cardiff,has served as Sub-Prior of the British and Irish Delegation. The current Archbishop of Westminster, His Grace The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols is also a longstanding chaplain of the British and Irish Delegation.
worldwide Grand Magistral Delegate for Inter-Religious Relations. He is supported by a Council, which is elected evert three years.
