Queen Elizabeth II has announced that the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla, would become a Royal Lady of the Order of the Garter.
Moreover, Baroness Valerie Ann Amos was declared to be a Lady Companion, and former Prime Minister Tony Blair was given the title of Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
The Duchess of Cornwall is the daughter of Major Bruce Middleton Hope Shand and The Hon Rosalind Maud Shand (nee Cubitt).
She was born Camilla Rosemary Shand on 17 July 1947 at King’s College Hospital, London, the eldest of three children. Her Royal Highness has a sister, Annabel Elliot; her brother, Mark Shand, died in 2014.
The Duchess was first educated at Dumbrells School, a co-ed school in Sussex, and then attended Queen’s Gate School in South Kensington.
She also attended Mon Fertile School in Switzerland and studied at the Institut Britannique in Paris.
The Order of the Garter was founded by Edward III in 1348 and is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honors system. The number of companions is limited to 24, although supernumerary members do not count towards this total.
The Order includes the Queen, who is Sovereign of the Garter, several senior members of the royal family, and 24 knights chosen in recognition of their work.