While carrying out research for an exhibition celebrating the foundation of the Order of St Michael and St George in Malta held at the Malta Postal Museum in Valletta in 2018, a stack of papers had been prepared for my perusal at the Central Chancery for the Orders of Knighthood at St James’s Palace, London.

Among these items were two prints, both engravings showing designs for the uniforms of officers of the Order. One of these was the hand-coloured print reproduced here.

The designs of the coatee (tailcoat) followed the usual pattern for early 19th-century civil court uniform, which was based on the uniforms of the royal household, that is, a coatee of blue cloth with scarlet collar and cuffs with additional ornamentation in gold embroidery.

The features that distinguish the uniform shown here from that of the royal household are as follows.

The gold embroidery motifs used on the uniforms of the royal household are based on the oakleaf and palm. These uniforms show a different, stylised, leaf pattern that will be discussed below.

The cut of the cuff on the royal household uniforms is what is termed ‘a gauntlet cut’: they splay out like gauntlets. The cuffs shown in the print are a simpler, square cut.

The collars and cuffs of royal household uniforms were of scarlet cloth (wool) whereas the descriptions on the prints indicate scarlet velvet, the latter being in keeping with civil court uniform generally, although the colour of the cuffs of civil uniforms is black rather than scarlet.

Date of origin of the uniforms

These printed designs give no indication as to their date of origin, however, consideration of the development of the various categories of officers within the Order gives us some important hints.

When the Order was founded in 1818, the administrative hierarchy consisted of grand master, prelates, secretary, king of arms and registrar. In 1832, major revisions were made to the statutes; most significantly for this investigation was the introduction of the office of chancellor.

The first chancellor was the genealogist and antiquarian Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas, who was elevated to this new office in August 1832.

The establishment of the office of chancellor was the brainchild of Nicolas, who took this opportunity to imbue the proceeding of the Order with what he considered appropriate ceremonial glory. Part of this glory was to be the addition of an appropriate uniform for this newly instituted office.

The chancellor’s uniform was approved by William IV in August 1832, which gives us a date for the introduction of this uniform. Indeed, it would be logical to assume that the prints in question may well date to these developments within the Order and that the prints may have even been generated to provide suitable illustrations for the relevant authorities to make informed decisions.

In addition, one of the final clauses of the 1832 statutes states that the officers of the Order were, for the first time, officially “declared to be servants of the sovereign’s household”, which can be seen as confirmation of the rationale to base these new uniforms on those of the royal household.

Laurel motif

As mentioned above, one of the differences between the royal household and the Order’s uniforms is the motif used for the embroidery. The reason for the choice of motif generally lay in its symbolism: the oak being the national tree of England would call to mind virtuous attributes such as honour, truth, nobility, longevity and wisdom; the palm symbolising victory, triumph, peace and eternal life. These motifs were thus deemed appropriate for the royal household.

The 1903 edition of Dress Worn by Gentlemen at His Majesty’s Court appears to be the earliest printed reference to the uniforms of the officers of the Orders of Knighthood generally. It stipulates that “the officers of the Order of St Michael and St George wear a uniform similar to the household uniform but with scarlet velvet collar and cuffs and embroidery of special pattern”.

Unfortunately, the pattern is not specified. However, the 1908 edition of this publication specifies a ‘laurel leaf pattern’.

It is quite probable that as the Order originated in Corfu and Malta, the laurel − commonly found around the Mediterranean − would have been a logical choice on which to base the embroidered details. Furthermore, the laurel, being the symbol of victory, success and achievement, would have been a very fitting motif for the uniform of an Order founded to reward citizens of Malta and the Ionian islands for their achievements and service to the British empire. 

Moreover, the laurel motif was also repeated in the pattern on the upholstery fabric on the armchairs in the Ionian senate chamber at the Palace of St Michael and St George in Corfu.

Were these uniforms ever worn?

After some initial doubt as to whether these uniforms were ever used, it now seems certain that they were: John Petrie, Windsor herald and uniform officer at the College of Arms, has pointed out that Sir Frank Swettenham, King of Arms of the Order from 1925 till 1938, is shown wearing his uniform on the frontispiece of his book Footprints in Malaya (London, 1942). Therefore, we have clear evidence that the uniform was worn well into the 20th century.

More intriguing yet is the physical evidence provided by Jonathan Smith, who has supplied an illustration showing two cuffs with gold thread embroidery over scarlet velvet. Not only do these show the laurel leaf, the cuffs are square rather than gauntlet cut, in conformity with the 19th-century prints under review.

One question remains: why did Nicolas take so much interest in this Order? Examination of his early career may provide the answer. As a naval midshipman in the Pilot brig, he took part in many a bold adventure resulting in the capture of several armed vessels off the coast of Calabria in 1810. Given the Order’s connection with the Mediterranean, might the memory of his own service in this theatre have kindled Nicolas’s interest in the Order?

This article is a shorter version of an essay that was included in the Order of St Michael and St George's Annual Report for 2021. The author wishes to acknowledge the valuable assistance of Rev. Peter Galloway, Jonathan Smith and John Petrie, Windsor Herald and Uniform Officer.