Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom
The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals' personal bravery, achievement, or service to the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories. The system consists of three types of award – honours, decorations and medals: Honours are used to recognise merit in terms of achievement and service; Decorations tend to be used to recognise specific deeds; Medals are used to recognise service on a particular operation or in a specific theatre, long and/or valuable service, and/or good conduct. Appointments to the various orders and awards of other honours are usually published in the London Gazette. Contents 1 Brief history 2 Modern honours 2.1 Orders of honours 2.2 New Year and Birthday Honours 2.3 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours 2.4 Crown Honours Lists 3 Current orders of chivalry 4 Dormant orders of chivalry 4.1 The Order of St Patrick 4.2 Imperial orders 5 Orders formerly associated with the British monarch 5.1 The Royal Guelphic Order 6...