Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Order of the Garter is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, founded by King Edward III in 1348. It is dedicated to Saint George, England's patron saint. Membership is limited to the sovereign, the Prince of Wales, and no more than 24 Companions.
The traditional year of the Order of the Garter's founding is 1348, when it was formally proclaimed by King Edward III. The Complete Peerage records its institution as early as the 23rd of April 1344, and proposed dates range from 1344 to 1351.
The Order of the Garter motto is Honi soit qui mal y pense, Anglo-Norman French for 'shamed be the person who thinks evil of it.' The phrase refers to King Edward III's claim to the French throne. The Order of the Garter was created to help pursue that claim.
Queen Philippa was the first Lady of the Garter, appointed in 1358. King Henry VII discontinued the practice in 1488; his mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, was the last Lady before the title lay dormant. Queen Alexandra later revived the tradition, appointed by her husband, King Edward VII.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was struck off the roll of the Order of the Garter in 2025 amid controversy surrounding his association with Jeffrey Epstein. His appointment was annulled on the 30th of October 2025, and his banner was removed from St George's Chapel in Windsor.
The Order of the Garter motto is inscribed in the sole surviving manuscript of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, which is held in the British Library. Two leading candidates for the poem's authorship, John of Gaunt and Enguerrand de Coucy, had direct ties to the Order. De Coucy married King Edward III's daughter Isabella and was admitted to the Order of the Garter on their wedding day.