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{{Short description|Dormant 1861 British order of chivalry}}
{{Other uses|Star of India (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox order
|title = The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India
|image = [[File:Insignia of the Knight Grand Commander of the order Vector.svg|250px]]
|caption = Insignia of a Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India (GCSI)
|awarded_by = <br>[[monarch of the United Kingdom]]<br />[[File:Coat of arms of the United Kingdom (2022, variant 2).svg|35px]]
|type = [[Order of chivalry]]
|established = 1861
|motto = ''Heaven's Light Our Guide''
|day =
|eligibility =
|for = At the monarch's pleasure
|status = ''Last appointment in 1947''<br>''Dormant order since 2009''
|founder = [[Queen Victoria|Victoria]]
|head_title=Sovereign
|head=
|grades =
{{Plainlist|
*Knight Grand Commander (GCSI)
*Knight Commander (KCSI)
*Companion (CSI)
}}
|former_grades = Knight Companion
|first_induction =
|last_induction =
|total =
|recipients =
|individual =
|higher = [[Order of the Bath]]
|lower = [[Order of St Michael and St George]]
|image2 = [[File:UK Order of the Star of India ribbon.svg|100px]]
|caption2 = Ribbon bar of the Star of India
}}

{{Use British English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}

The '''Most Exalted Order of the Star of India''' is an [[order of chivalry]] founded by [[Queen Victoria]] in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:

# '''Knight Grand Commander''' ([[:Category:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India|GCSI]])
# '''Knight Commander''' ([[:Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India|KCSI]])
# '''Companion''' ([[:Category:Companions of the Order of the Star of India|CSI]])

No appointments have been made since the [[1948 New Year Honours]], shortly after the [[Partition of India]] in 1947. Following the death in 2009 of the last surviving knight, the [[Tej Singh Prabhakar]], Maharaja of [[Alwar state|Alwar]], the order became dormant.

The motto of the order was "Heaven's Light Our Guide". The [[Star of India (flag)#Emblem|Star of India emblem]], the insignia of the order and the informal emblem of British India, was also used as the basis of [[Star of India (flag)|a series of flags]] to represent the [[British Raj|Indian Empire]].

The order was the fifth most senior British order of chivalry, following the [[Order of the Garter]], [[Order of the Thistle]], [[Order of St Patrick]] and [[Order of the Bath]]. It is the senior order of chivalry associated with the [[British Raj]]; junior to it is the [[Order of the Indian Empire]], and there is also, for women only, the [[Imperial Order of the Crown of India]].

==History==
Several years after the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] and the consolidation of Great Britain's power as the governing authority in India, it was decided by the British Crown to create a new order of knighthood to honour Indian Princes and Chiefs, as well as British officers and administrators who served in India. On 25 June 1861, the following proclamation was issued by [[Queen Victoria]]:
{{Blockquote|The Queen, being desirous of affording to the Princes, Chiefs and People of the [[British Raj|Indian Empire]], a public and signal testimony of Her regard, by the Institution of an [[Order of knighthood]], whereby Her resolution to take upon Herself the Government of the Territories in India may be commemorated, and by which Her Majesty may be enabled to reward conspicuous merit and loyalty, has been graciously pleased, by [[Letters Patent]] under the [[Great Seal of the Realm|Great Seal]] of the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]], to institute, erect, constitute, and create, an Order of Knighthood, to be known by, and have for ever hereafter, the name, style, and designation, of "The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India"<ref name="gazette22523">{{London Gazette|issue=22523|date=25 June 1861|page=2622}}</ref>}}
[[File:Flag of the Governor General of India RMG RP-35-18 (crop).jpg|thumb|The flag of the [[Viceroy of India]] displayed the Star of the Order beneath the [[Tudor Crown (heraldry)|Tudor Crown]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Flag of the Governor General of India |url=https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-271 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724045920/https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-271 |archive-date=July 24, 2022 |access-date=2024-09-07 |website=www.rmg.co.uk |publisher=[[Royal Museums Greenwich]] |place=[[National Maritime Museum]]}}</ref>]]

==Recipients==
[[File:William Barnes Wollen - Wollen-98228 - George V investing an Indian Prince with The Star of India.jpg|thumb|upright| ''[[George V]] investing an Indian Prince with The Star of India, 14th December, 1911'' by [[William Barnes Wollen]] ]]

===Knights Companion===
19 persons were appointed Knights Companion at the creation of the Order:<ref name="gazette22523"/>
{{See also|List of Knights Companion of the Order of the Star of India}}
* [[Albert, Prince Consort]]
* [[Edward VII|Albert Edward, Prince of Wales]]
* [[Charles Canning, 1st Earl Canning]], [[Order of the Bath|GCB]], [[Governor-General of India]] and Grand Master of the Order
* [[Sir James Outram, 1st Baronet]], GCB, Member of the [[Viceroy's Executive Council]]
* [[George Harris, 3rd Baron Harris]], [[Governor of Madras]]
* Sir [[George Russell Clerk]], [[Governor of Bombay]]
* Sir [[John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence|John Laird Mair Lawrence]], Bt, GCB, Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab
* Sir [[Hugh Rose, 1st Baron Strathnairn|Hugh Henry Rose]], GCB, [[Commander-in-Chief, India]]
* [[Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough]], former Commander-in-Chief, India
* [[Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde]], former Commander-in-Chief, India
* [[Tukojirao Holkar II]], Maharaja of [[Indore State|Indore]]
* [[Afzal-ud-Daulah]], 5th [[Nizam of Hyderabad]]
* [[Jayajirao Scindia]], Maharaja of [[Gwalior State|Gwalior]]
* [[Duleep Singh]], former Maharaja of the [[Sikh Empire]]
* [[Ranbir Singh of Jammu and Kashmir|Ranbir Singh Dogra]], Maharaja of [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]]
* [[Yusef Ali Khan]], Nawab of [[Rampur State|Rampur]]
* Nawab Sikander Begum, [[Nawabs of Bhopal|Nawab Begum of Bhopal]]
* [[Maharaja Narinder Singh|Narendra Singh]], Maharaja of [[Patiala State|Patiala]]
* [[Khanderao II Gaekwad]], Maharaja of [[Baroda State|Baroda]][[File:Insignia of Knight Commander of the Star of India.jpg|thumb|418x418px|Insignia of a Knight Commander of the Order.]]

12 additional Knights Companion were appointed over the next five years.
* 19 August 1861<ref>{{London Gazette|nolink=y|issue=22542|page=3501|date=27 August 1861}}</ref>
** [[Stapleton Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere]], former Commander-in-Chief, India
** [[Sir George Pollock, 1st Baronet]] GCB, former commander of [[First Anglo-Afghan War|British forces in Afghanistan]]
* 11 November 1863<ref>{{London Gazette|nolink=y|issue=22788|page=5361|date=13 November 1863}}</ref>
** [[Ram Singh II]], Maharaja of [[Jaipur State|Jaipur]]
** [[Swarup Singh of Jind|Swarup Singh]], Rajah of [[Jind State|Jind]]
* 10 December 1864<ref>{{London Gazette|nolink=y|issue=22920|page=6545|date=13 December 1864}}</ref>
** [[Randhir Singh of Kapurthala|Randhir Singh]], Raja of [[Kapurthala State|Kapurthala]]
** Raghuraj Singh Ju Deo Bahadur, [[Rewa (princely state)|Maharaja of Rewa]]
* 12 February 1866<ref>{{London Gazette|nolink=y|issue=23073|page=973|date=20 February 1866}}</ref>
** Sir [[Robert Montgomery (civil servant)|Robert Montgomery]], former Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab
** Sir [[Henry Bartle Frere]], Bt., GCB, Governor of Bombay
** [[Takht Singh]], Maharaja of [[Jodhpur State|Jodhpur]]
** [[Ayilyam Thirunal]], Maharaja of [[Travancore]]
** General Sir [[William Mansfield, 1st Baron Sandhurst|William Mansfield]], KCB, Commander-in-Chief, India
** Madan Pal, Maharaja of [[Karauli State|Karauli]]
** Sir Joginder Sen Bahadur KCSI, Maharaja of [[Mandi State|Mandi]]

On 24 May 1866, the Order was expanded to additional ranks. All surviving Knights Companion were elevated to Grand Commander.

===Later appointments===
Additional appointments were made to the Order in the ranks of Grand Commander, Knight Commander, and Companion. These include

* [[Shahu of Kolhapur]], Maharaja of [[Kolhapur State|Kolhapur]]
* Maharaja [[Bir Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana]] of [[Kingdom of Nepal|Nepal]]
* Maharaja Bahadur Sir JAIMANGAL Singh of [[Gidhaur chieftaincy|Gidhaur Estate]] KCSI 24.05.1866.
* Maharaja Bahadur Sir Ravaneshwar Singh of Gidhaur Estate KCIE 25.05.1895.
* [[Nawab]] Sir [[Khwaja Salimullah]] Bahadur, [[Nawab of Dhaka]]{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
* [[Mir Osman Ali Khan]] Siddiqi Bayafandi - Asaf Jah VII - 7th [[Nizam]] of [[Hyderabad State|Hyderabad]]
* Maharaj [[Bhim Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana]]{{Citation needed|date=June 2020}}
* [[Sadeq Mohammad Khan IV]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lethbridge |first=Sir Roper |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7iOsNUZ2MXgC&pg=PA42 |title=The Golden Book of India: A Genealogical and Biographical Dictionary of the Ruling Princes, Chiefs, Nobles, and Other Personages, Titled Or Decorated of the Indian Empire |date=2005 |publisher=Aakar Books |isbn=978-81-87879-54-1 |language=en |access-date=13 August 2022 |archive-date=30 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630151150/https://books.google.com/books?id=7iOsNUZ2MXgC&pg=PA42 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Library |first=India Collection at the British |date=2017-12-22 |title=Nawab of Bahawalpur, 1870 |url=https://www.thefridaytimes.com/2017/12/22/nawab-of-bahawalpur-1870/ |access-date=2022-08-07 |website=The Friday Times - Naya Daur |language=en-US |archive-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922084613/https://www.thefridaytimes.com/2017/12/22/nawab-of-bahawalpur-1870/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Nawab of Bahawalpur]]
* [[Mohammad Usman of Madras|Khan Bahadur Sir Mohammad Usman of Madras]] KCIE was appointed KCSI on 14 June 1945.{{fact|date=August 2025}}

The last appointments to the Order were made in the [[1948 New Year Honours]], some months after the [[Partition of India]] in August 1947.[[File:Order of the Star of India.png|thumb|Insignia of the order]]The [[Order of the Indian Empire]], founded in 1877, was intended to be a less exclusive version of the Order of the Star of India; consequently, many more appointments were made to the former.

As the last Grand Master of the Orders, [[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma]] was also the last known individual to wear publicly the stars of a Knight Grand Commander of both Orders, during the [[Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II]] celebrations in 1977.<ref name="Vickers_orders"/>

* There were only three female members of the Order: Nawab Sikander Begum of Bhopal; Nawab Sikander's daughter, [[Nawabs of Bhopal|Shah Jahan Begum of Bhopal]]; and Queen [[Mary of Teck|Mary]], consort of [[George V]].
* The last Grand Master of the Order, [[Admiral of the Fleet]] Lord Mountbatten of Burma (1900–1979), was assassinated by the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|Provisional IRA]] on 27 August 1979.
* The last surviving Knight Grand Commander, Maharaja Sree Padmanabhadasa Sir [[Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma]] GCSI, [[GCIE]], Maharajah of [[Travancore]] (1912–1991), died 19 July 1991 in [[Trivandrum]].<ref name="Vickers_orders">{{cite book |last=Vickers |first=Hugo |date=1994 |title=Royal Orders |location=Great Britain |publisher=Boxtree Limited |page=140 |isbn=1852835109}}</ref>
* The last surviving Knight Commander, [[Maharaja]] Sir [[Tej Singh Prabhakar Bahadur]] KCSI (1911–2009), Maharaja of Alwar, died on 15 February 2009 in New Delhi.
* The last surviving Companion of the Order, [[Vice-Admiral]] Sir [[Ronald Brockman]] [[Companion of the Order of the Star of India|CSI]] (1909–1999), died on 3 September 1999 in London.

==Composition==
[[File:Investiture of the Star of India.JPG|thumb|right|upright=1.3|''Investiture of the Star of India, Delhi'' (detail), by George Jacomb-Hood. King George V is depicted awarding the GCSI to [[Ganga Singh]], Maharaja of Bikaner, at the 1911 [[Delhi Durbar]]]]
The [[British monarchy|British Sovereign]] was, and still is, Sovereign of the Order. The next most senior member was the Grand Master, a position held ''ex officio'' by the [[Viceroy of India]]. When the order was established in 1861, there was only one class of Knights Companion, who bore the postnominals KSI. In 1866, however, it was expanded to three classes. Members of the first class were known as "Knights Grand Commander" (rather than the usual "Knights Grand Cross") so as not to offend the non-Christian Indians appointed to the Order. All those surviving members who had already been made Knights Companion of the Order were retroactively known as Knights Grand Commander.

Former viceroys and other high officials, as well as those who served in the Department of the [[Secretary of State for India]] for at least thirty years were eligible for appointment. Rulers of Indian Princely States were also eligible for appointment. Some states were of such importance that their rulers were almost always appointed Knights Grand Commanders; such rulers included the [[Nizam]] of [[Hyderabad state|Hyderabad]], the [[Maharaja of Mysore]], the [[Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir]], the [[Gaekwad of Baroda|Maharaja]] of [[Baroda State|Baroda]], the Maharajas of [[Gwalior State|Gwalior]], the [[Nawab of Bhopal]], the [[House of Holkar|Maharaja]] of [[Indore State|Indore]], the Maharajas of Singrauli, the [[Maharana of Mewar|Maharana of]] [[Kingdom of Mewar|Udaipur]], the [[Maharaja of Travancore]], the [[Maharaja]] of [[Jodhpur State|Jodhpur]] and the [[Maharao]] of [[Kutch State|Cutch]].
[[File:Tanjore Madhava Rao 1880.jpg|left|thumb|270x270px|[[T. Madhava Rao|Tanjore Madhava Rao]], the [[Diwan (title)|Diwan]] of [[Travancore]], wearing the Order. Portrait circa 1880.]]
[[Kashi Naresh]] [[Prabhu Narayan Singh of Benares]] and [[Sir Azizul Haque]] were appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (KCIE) in 1892 and 1941 respectively, Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE) in 1898, and Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India (GCSI) for his services in the [[First World War]] in the 1921 New Year Honours.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=32178 |date=1 January 1921 |page=5 |supp=y}}</ref>

Rulers of other nations in Asia and the Middle East, including the [[Emir of Kuwait]], the Maharajas of the [[Rana dynasty]], the [[Khedive of Egypt]], the [[King of Bhutan]] and the rulers of [[Sultanate of Zanzibar|Zanzibar]], [[History of Bahrain (1783–1971)|Bahrain]] and [[Muscat and Oman|Oman]] were also appointed to the Order. Like some rulers of [[princely states]], some rulers of particular prestige, for example the Maharajas of the Rana dynasty or the Sultans of Oman, were usually appointed Knights Grand Commanders.

Women, save the princely rulers, were ineligible for appointment to the order. They were, unlike the habit of many other orders, admitted as "Knights", rather than as "Dames" or "Ladies". The first woman to be admitted to the order was Nawab Sikandar Begum Sahiba, Nawab Begum of Bhopal; she was created a Knight Companion at the Order's foundation in 1861. The order's statutes were specially amended to permit the admission of Queen [[Mary of Teck|Mary]] as a Knight Grand Commander in 1911.

==Vestments and accoutrements==
[[File:GCSI mantle.jpg|thumb|upright|Mantle of the Order]]
Members of the Order wore elaborate costumes on important ceremonial occasions:
* The ''[[wikt:Mantle|mantle]]'', worn only by Knights Grand Commander, was made of light blue satin lined with white silk. On the left side was a representation of the star (see below).
* The ''[[Collar (Order of Knighthood)|collar]]'', also worn only by Knights Grand Commander, was made of gold. It was composed of alternating figures of lotuses, red and white roses and palm branches, with an imperial crown in the centre.

On certain "[[collar day]]s" designated by the Sovereign, members attending formal events wore the order's collar over their military uniform, formal day dress, or evening wear. When collars were worn (either on collar days or on formal occasions such as coronations), the badge was suspended from the collar.

[[File:GCSI star.jpg|right|thumb|upright=0.9|Representation of the star of the order on the mantle]]
At less important occasions, simpler insignia were used:
* The ''star'', worn only by Knights Grand Commanders and Knights Commanders, included a [[sunburst]], with twenty-six large rays alternating with twenty-six small rays; it was in gold and circular for Knights Grand Commanders, and in silver and eight-pointed for Knights Commanders. In the centre of the sunburst was a light blue ring bearing the motto of the Order. Within the ribbon was a five-pointed star, decorated with diamonds for Knights Grand Commanders.
* The ''badge'' was worn by Knights Grand Commanders on a white-edged light blue riband, or sash, passing from the right shoulder to the left hip, and by Knights Commanders and Companions from a white-edged light blue ribbon around the neck. It included an oval, containing the effigy of the Sovereign, surrounded by a light blue ring bearing the motto of the Order; the oval was suspended from a five-pointed star, which may be decorated with diamonds depending on class.

Unlike the insignia of most other British chivalric orders, the insignia of the Order of the Star of India did not incorporate crosses, as they were deemed unacceptable to the Indian princes appointed to the Order.

==Precedence and privileges==
Members of all classes of the Order were assigned positions in the order of precedence. Wives of members of all classes also featured on the order of precedence, as did sons, daughters and daughters-in-law of Knights Grand Commanders and Knights Commanders. (See [[order of precedence in England and Wales]] for the exact positions.)

[[File:Star of India Insignia (1).svg|125px|thumb|Star and [[Collar (order)|Collar]] of a Knight Grand Commander of the Order]]
Knights Grand Commanders used the [[post-nominal]] initials "GCSI", Knights Commanders "KCSI" and Companions "CSI". Knights Grand Commanders and Knights Commanders prefixed "Sir" to their forenames. Wives of Knights Grand Commanders and Knights Commanders could prefix "Lady" to their surnames. Such forms were not used by peers and Indian princes, except when the names of the former were written out in their fullest forms.

Knights Grand Commanders were also entitled to receive [[Heraldry|heraldic supporters]]. They could, furthermore, encircle their arms with a depiction of the circlet (a circle bearing the motto) and the [[Collar (Order of Knighthood)|collar]]; the former is shown either outside or on top of the latter. Knights Commanders and Companions were permitted to display the circlet, but not the collar, surrounding their arms. The badge is depicted suspended from the collar or circlet.

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Portrait of H.M. King George V at Delhi (cropped).jpg|Portrait of King [[George V]] at Delhi by Christopher Clark, 1915. He wears the Order with the uniform of the [[19th Lancers#18th King George's Own Lancers|18th King George's Own Lancers]].
File:Portrait of King Edward VII with the Robes of the Order of the Star of India.png|Portrait of King [[Edward VII]] wearing the Robes of the Order, by Alfred James Downey.
File:Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin Viceroy of India.jpg|[[Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin]], Viceroy of India, in the robes of the Order of the Star of India (as Grand Master of the Order)
File:Charles Hardinge.jpg|[[Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst]], Viceroy of India, in the robes of the Order (as Grand Master of the Order)
File:H H Raja of Cochin.jpg|[[Rama Varma XV]], Maharaja of Cochin wearing the mantle of the Order for the occasion of King Edward VII's [[Delhi Durbar]] of 1903
File:Sir Pratap Singh of Idar 1900-1920 (cropped).jpg|[[Pratap Singh of Idar|Pratap Singh]], Maharaja of [[Idar State|Idar]], wearing the Order. Paint on photograph, 1900-20.
File:Arthur Stockdale Cope - Thomas George Baring, Earl of Northbrook.jpg| [[Thomas Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook]] wearing the GSCI sash
File:General Lord Roberts AKA "Bobs" (26322003985).JPG| [[Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts]] with GCSI star and sash
File:Sayajirao Gaekwad III, Maharaja of Baroda, 1919.jpg|[[Sayajirao Gaekwad III]], Maharaja of Baroda, wearing the sash and star of a Knight Grand Commander (GCSI), along with the star of a Knight Grand Commander of the [[Order of the Indian Empire]] (GCIE)
File:Order of the Star of India knight commander badge (United Kingdom 1900) - Tallinn Museum of Orders.jpg|Badge of a Knight Commander, circa 1900.
File:Sir Henry Edward Stokes KCSI.JPG|[[Indian Civil Service]] officer [[Henry Stokes]], wearing the insignia of a Knight Commander (KCSI) of the Order.
File:Order of the Star of India knight commander star (United Kingdom 1900) - Tallinn Museum of Orders.jpg|Star of a Knight Commander, circa 1900.
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[List of knights grand commander of the Order of the Star of India]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Order of the Star of India}}
* [http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/22523/pages/2621 Proclamation founding the Order of the Star of India], london-gazette.co.uk, 25 June 1861.

{{British Honours System}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Order Of The Star Of India}}
[[Category:Order of the Star of India| ]]
[[Category:Orders of chivalry of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Orders, decorations, and medals of British India]]
[[Category:1861 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Awards established in 1861]]

Order of the Star of India - Revision history

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