Order of Merit (Commonwealth)

Order of Merit Ordre du Mérite
Insignia of the Sovereign of the order
Awarded by the monarch of the United Kingdom (foundation – 1931) the monarch of the United Kingdom and the Dominions (1931–1952) the monarch of the Commonwealth realms (since 1952)
Type	Dynastic order
Motto	For Merit
Eligibility	All living citizens of the Commonwealth realms
Awarded for	At the monarch's pleasure
Status	Currently constituted
First Sovereign	King Edward VII
Sovereign	Queen Elizabeth II
Grades	Member (OM)
Statistics
Established	1902
Precedence
Next (higher)	Dependent on state
Next (lower)	Dependent on state
Ribbon of the Order of Merit

The Order of Merit (French: Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by King Edward VII, admission into the order remains the personal gift of its Sovereign—currently Edward VII's great-granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II—and is restricted to a maximum of 24 living recipients from the Commonwealth realms plus a limited number of honorary members. While all members are awarded the right to use the post-nominal letters OM and a medallion for life, the Order of Merit's precedence among other honours differs between realms.

The first mention of a possible Order of Merit was made following the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, in correspondence between First Lord of the Admiralty Lord Barham and William Pitt, though nothing came of the idea. Later, it was thought by Queen Victoria, her courtiers, and politicians alike, that a new order, based on the Prussian order Pour le Mérite, would make up for the insufficient recognition offered by the established honours system to achievement outside of public service, in fields such as art, music, literature, industry, and science.

Victoria's husband, Albert, Prince Consort, took an interest in the matter; it was recorded in his diary that he met on 16 January 1844 with Robert Peel to discuss the "idea of institution of a civil Order of Merit" and three days later he conferred with the Queen on the subject. The concept did not wither and, on 5 January 1888, British prime minister Lord Salisbury submitted to the Queen a draft constitution for an Order of Merit in Science and Art, consisting of one grade split into two branches of knighthood: the Order of Scientific Merit for Knights of Merit in Science, with the post-nominal letters KMS and the Order of Artistic Merit for Knights of Merit in Art, with the post-nominal letters KMA. However, Sir Frederic Leighton, President of the Royal Academy, advised against the new order, primarily because of its selection process.