- The Queen appointed the Duchess of Cambridge a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO), the highest rank in a form of chivalry personally granted by the sovereign to recognise one's service.
- Other royals with the rank include Prince Philip, Duchess Camilla, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
- She wore the honour for the first time to a banquet marking the US state visit on 3 June.
The Queen gave a special gift to the Duchess of Cambridge on her eighth anniversary to Prince William in April. The sovereign has appointed the royal to be a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO), Buckingham Palace announced in a statement at the time.
Two months later, the duchess proudly repped the honour at a state dinner welcoming the Trumps to the UK earlier this week (4 June) . Here's everything you need to know about what it stands for.
The Queen personally bestows the award to people to acknowledge their service.
The honour is a form of chivalry personally given by the queen for "services to the sovereign", the statement explained. It was originally established by Queen Victoria (hence the name) in 1896 to "personally thank and honour people who had helped her directly, or represented her across the Empire," royal correspondent Omid Scobie reported.
The Dame Grand Cross (or Knight Grand Cross) is the highest ranking in the order, royal reporter Chris Ship of ITV points out.
Other royals have also been recognised by Her Majesty.
In addition to Duchess Kate, other royal family members with this title include Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, who was appointed in 2012; Sophie, Countess of Wessex, who was appointed in 2010; and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who was just appointed in 2017. Prince Harry was appointed a Knight Commander of the order (which is lower than a GCVO) in 2015.
The decoration features a cross.
The order is denoted by a Maltese cross, which varies in size according to rank, Scobie also points out.
It's often worn with a sash that goes around the neck or diagonally around the torso. Kate's sash featured a cross at the hip.
This isn't Kate's first award from the Queen.
The Duchess of Cambridge previously received a Royal Family Order from the Queen, which is a small portrait of the monarch attached to a ribbon and gifted to members of the royal family, according to the royals' official website. She publicly debuted the badge during a state dinner at Buckingham Palace in October 2018.
