Order of Saint Patrick

Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick
Insignia of a Knight of the Order of St. Patrick
Awarded by the British monarch
Type	Order of chivalry
Established	1783
Motto	Quis separabit?
Criteria	At the monarch's pleasure
Status	Dormant order
Sovereign	Queen Elizabeth II
Grades	Knight (KP)
Precedence
Next (higher)	Order of the Thistle
Next (lower)	Order of the Bath
Riband of the Order of St. Patrick

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?"

Most British orders of chivalry cover the entire kingdom, but the three most exalted ones each pertain to one constituent country only. The Order of St Patrick, which pertains to Ireland, is the most junior of these three in precedence and age. Its equivalent in England, The Most Noble Order of the Garter, is the oldest order of chivalry in the United Kingdom, dating to the middle fourteenth century. The Scottish equivalent is The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, dating in its modern form to 1687.