Short answers, pulled from the story.
King Edward III founded the Order of the Garter around 1348, though historical records suggest a more complex timeline. The Complete Peerage states the order was first instituted on the 23rd of April 1344, listing founding members knighted that year.
The most popular legend involves the Countess of Salisbury whose garter slipped while dancing at a court ball in Calais. Courtiers sniggered when the item fell prompting the king to pick it up and return it with the phrase shamed be he who thinks evil of it which became the order's motto.
Six officers serve the Order including Philip Mounstephen as Prelate since 2023 and Eliza Manningham-Buller as Chancellor since 2024. Lieutenant General Ed Davis serves as Gentleman Usher of Black Rod from 2025 while David White holds the position of Garter Principal King of Arms from 2021.
Membership includes the monarch Prince of Wales and no more than 24 living Companions. Twenty-five Founder Knights joined the monarch in the original establishment before Henry VII discontinued the practice of appointing women companions in 1488.
The collar weighs approximately one pound made of pure gold consisting of gold heraldic knots alternating with enamelled medallions showing rose encircled by Garter. Henry VII changed design to encircle Tudor rose alone after Wars of Roses and it features a Great George figure depicting St George slaying dragon in three-dimensional enamel or jewels.