Royal Order of Victoria and Albert
The Royal Order of Victoria and Albert was a British Royal Family Order instituted on 10 February 1862[1] by Queen Victoria, and enlarged on 10 October 1864, 15 November 1865, and 15 March 1880. No award was made after the death of Queen Victoria.
| Royal Order of Victoria and Albert | |
|---|---|
![]() The four grades of the Order | |
| Awarded by Queen Victoria | |
| Type | Royal Family Order |
| Ribbon | White |
| Eligibility | Female members of the British royal family and female courtiers |
| Status | Defunct; not awarded since the death of Queen Victoria, 1901 |
| Post-nominals | VA |
Ribbon of the Order | |


The order had four classes and was only granted to female members of the British royal family and female courtiers. For the first three classes, the badge consisted of a medallion of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, differing in the width and jewelling of the border as the classes descend, whilst the fourth substitutes a jewelled cipher. All four were surmounted by a crown, which was attached to a bow of white silk moiré ribbon. The honour conferred no rank or title upon the recipient, but recipients were entitled to use the post-nominal letters "VA".
The last holder of the Order, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, died in 1981.
Recipients
- Elizabeth Biddulph, Baroness Biddulph (Woman of the Bedchamber)[2]
- The Countess of Mount Edgcumbe (Lady of the Bedchamber)[3]
- Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill (Lady of the Bedchamber)[4]
- 1889: The Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava[5]
- Edith Bulwer-Lytton, Countess of Lytton[6]
Sources
- Whitaker's Almanack, 1893
- British Imperial Calendar, 1900, 1902
- The Times
See also
References
- British Imperial Calendar, 1900
- Cherrington, Ernest Hurst (1925). Standard Encyclopedia of the Alcohol Problem. Vol. 1. Westerville, Ohio: American Issue Publishing Company. p. 343. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- "Obituary". Obituary. The Times. No. 30343. London. 4 November 1881. col F, p. 16.
- "The Dowager Lady Churchill". Obituaries. The Times. No. 36335. London. 26 December 1900. col E, p. 3.
- "Court Circular". Court and Social. The Times. No. 32607. London. 28 January 1889. col F, p. 9.
- Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003.


