The
Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick is a dormant British
order of chivalry associated with Ireland. The Order was created in 1783 by
George III at the request of the then Lord-Lieutenant,
Lord Buckingham. The regular creation of knights of
Saint Patrick lasted until 1922, when most of Ireland became independent as the
Irish Free State. While the Order technically still exists, no knight of St Patrick has been created since 1936, and the last surviving knight,
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, died in 1974.
The Queen, however, remains the Sovereign of the Order, and one officer, the
Ulster King of Arms (now combined with Norroy King of Arms), also survives.
St Patrick is
patron of the order; its motto is
Quis separabit?,
Latin for "Who will separate us?": an allusion to the
Vulgate translation of
Romans 8:35, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?"