It is the joining of the monarch in service to his or her people.
Over time, the award had other uses as a reward for loyalty to the monarch and service to the princely state.
Ruskin, I wrote, "once suggested the best service a monarch might perform for the arts would be to collect all the laborious landscapes of the 17th century Dutch painters, put them in a museum and burn it.
Vision, ideas and imagination are more important, argued John Ruskin, who once suggested the best service a monarch might perform for the arts would be to collect all the laborious landscapes of the 17th century Dutch painters, put them in a museum and burn it.
Mary Relph, 78, said that since 1988 she has waited outside the church whenever the monarch has attended a service there, so as to see the Queen.
Elections came to Bhutan just over a year ago, and media were seen by the outgoing monarch, wisely, as a service to the people to inform and protect them.
It is extremely rare for the monarch to miss the service, which is a cornerstone of the royal family's Christmas celebrations and brings her into contact with local residents who gather outside for a glimpse.
What a game men like them have to play, they commiserate, in the service of monarchs and emperors.
In their duties chaplains thus gradually became more identified with direct service to the monarch as advisers in both ecclesiastical and secular matters.
"The keeper of the keys" for a monarch's castle oversaw domestic service; now, the concierge has become the well-appointed hotel's signature ambassador to guests.
Catholic and Protestant leaders from across Ireland united in Enniskillen at an ecumenical service in the monarch's honour on Tuesday as, outside in wind and rain, several thousand people waved union flags.
