Queen Mary named Lady of the Garter

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 June 2, 1910


King George V has named his wife, Queen Mary, as a Lady of the Order of the Garter, reports the Washington Post.  He is following the precedent established by his late father,  King Edward VII,  for Queen Alexandra in 1901.

Queen Mary and Queen Alexandra are the only two women who are members of the ancient Most Noble Order the Garter.   Women were appointed as Ladies of the Garter soon after the establishment of the order in 1348 by King Edward III, but it was Henry VII who in 1488 ended the practice.  His mother, Margaret Beaufort, was the last Lady of the Garter until 1901.