Commonwealth of Nations , whose entitlement to use 'Sir' derived from his position as baronet The prefix is used with the holder's given name or full name, but never with the surname alone. For example, whilst Sir Alexander and Sir
Alexander Fleming would be correct, Sir Fleming would not. , a Stranger Knight of the
Order of the Garter, who, as a foreign national, was not entitled to use the prefix 'Sir' (which as a sovereign monarch he would not have used in any case) but was permitted to post-nominally use Today, in the UK and in certain
Commonwealth realms, a number of men are entitled to the prefix of 'Sir', including
knights bachelor, knights of the
orders of chivalry and
baronets; although foreign nationals can be awarded honorary knighthoods. Honorary knights do not bear the prefix "Sir" nor do they receive an
accolade; instead they use the associated
post-nominal letters. Only citizens of
Commonwealth realms may receive substantive knighthoods and have the privilege of the accompanying style. In general, only knighthoods in dynastic orders – those orders in the personal gift of the sovereign and head of the Commonwealth (the Order of the Garter, the Order of the Thistle and the knighthoods in the Royal Victorian Order) – are recognised across the Commonwealth realms, along with their accompanying styles. British knighthoods (in the Orders of the Bath, St. Michael and St. George, and in the Order of the British Empire, along with Knights Bachelor) were known as
imperial honours during the existence of the
British Empire. Those honours continued to be conferred as substantive, not honorary, awards by most Commonwealth realms into the 1990s. Since then, though former imperial honours are still awarded by certain Commonwealth realms, many of them have discontinued grants of British honours as they have developed their own honours systems, some of which include knighthoods. Today, British honours are only substantive for British nationals so recognised, including dual nationals, and for nationals of those realms which have retained them as part of their honours systems.
Dual national recipients of British knighthoods who hold British citizenship, such as academic and immunologist Sir
John Bell, are entitled to the style of
Sir as their knighthoods are substantive. This may not necessarily be the case for dual nationals who are not British citizens and who instead hold citizenship of another Commonwealth realm. In 1974,
Lynden Pindling, the
prime minister of the Bahamas, recommended dual Bahamian-American citizen
Sidney Poitier for an honorary knighthood as an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE), an imperial honour, as the Bahamas did not have its own honours system at the time. Although Poitier, as a Bahamian citizen by descent, was eligible for a substantive ('ordinary') award of the KBE, the Bahamian government preferred the knighthood to be honorary as Poitier was permanently residing in the United States. Knighthoods in the gift of the government of a Commonwealth realm only permit the bearer to use his style within that country or as its official representative, provided he is a national of that country; knighthoods granted by other realms may be considered foreign honours. For instance,
Anthony Bailey was reprimanded by Buckingham Palace and the British government in 2016 for asserting that an honorary Antiguan knighthood (which was revoked in 2017) allowed him the style of 'Sir' in the UK. The equivalent for a female who holds a knighthood or baronetcy in her own right is '
Dame', and follows the same usage customs as 'Sir'. Although this form was previously also used for the wives of knights and baronets, it is now customary to refer to them as 'Lady', followed by their surname; they are never addressed using their full names. For example, while Lady Fiennes is correct, Lady Virginia and Lady Virginia Fiennes are not. The widows of knights retain the style of wives of knights,
Barbados Prior to
becoming a republic in November 2021, Barbados awarded the title
Knight or Dame of St. Andrew within the
Order of Barbados. This practice has now been discontinued, though individuals who received a knighthood or damehood when the country was still a
Commonwealth realm may continue to use the titles "Sir" and "Dame" within their lifetimes.
Commonwealth realms • Knight Commander or Knight Grand Cross of the
Royal Victorian Order (KCVO/GCVO)
United Kingdom •
Baronet (Bt.) • Knight of the
Order of the Garter (KG) • Knight of the
Order of the Thistle (KT) • Knight Commander or Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of the Bath (KCB/GCB)
Grenada • Knight Commander, Knight Grand Cross, or Knight Grand Collar of the
Order of the Nation in the
Order of Grenada (KCNG/GCNG/KN)
New Zealand • Knight Companion or Knight Grand Companion of the
New Zealand Order of Merit (KNZM/GNZM)
Saint Lucia • Knight Commander of the
Order of Saint Lucia (KCSL)
India was the last surviving Knight Grand Commander of the
Order of the Star of India. As part of the consolidation of the
crown colony of India, the
Order of the Star of India was established in 1861 to reward prominent British and Indian civil servants, military officers and prominent Indians associated with the Indian Empire. The
Order of the Indian Empire was established in 1878 as a junior-level order to accompany the Order of the Star of India, and to recognise long service. From 1861 to 1866, the Order of the Star of India had a single class of Knights (KSI), who were entitled to the style of 'Sir'. In 1866, the order was reclassified into three divisions: Knights Grand Commander (GCSI), Knights Commander (KCSI) and Companions (CSI); holders of the upper two degrees could use the title 'Sir'. From its creation in 1878 until 1887, the Order of the Indian Empire had a single class, Companion (CIE), which did not entitle the recipient to a style of knighthood. In 1887, two higher divisions, Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) and Knight Commander (KCIE) were created, which entitled holders of those ranks to the style of 'Sir'. The last creations of knights of either order were made on 15 August 1947 upon Indian independence. All British honours and their accompanying styles were officially made obsolete in India when the
Dominion of India became a modern
republic in the Commonwealth of Nations in 1950, followed by
Islamic Republic of Pakistan in 1956. The Order of the Star of India became dormant in the Commonwealth realms from February 2009, and the Order of the Indian Empire after August 2010, when the last knights of the orders died.
Nigeria In
Nigeria, holders of religious
honours like the
Knighthood of St. Gregory make use of the word as a pre-nominal honorific in much the same way as it is used for secular purposes in Britain and the Philippines. Wives of such individuals also typically assume the title of Lady.
Non-Commonwealth Countries Holy See Knights and Dames of
papal orders may elect the "Sir" or "Dame" prefix with post-nominal letters, subject to the laws and conventions of the country they are in. The
Pope, the
sovereign of the
Catholic Church and
Vatican City, delegates the awarding orders of knighthood to
bishops and
Grand Masters. Their precedence is as follows: •
Supreme Order of Christ (Vacant) •
Order of the Golden Spur (Vacant) •
Order of Pope Pius IX •
Order of St. Gregory the Great •
Order of St. Sylvester •
Order of the Holy Sepulchre •
Sovereign Military Order of Malta For Example,
Sir Burton P. C. Hall,
KSS,
KCHS would be the correct style for lay knights. Lieutenants of the
Order of the Holy Sepulchre, are styled as "Your Excellency", such as H.E. Dame Trudy Comeau, DC*HS. Catholic clergy who are invested as Knight Chaplains may use post-nominal letters, but must retain their clerical titles, like
Rev. Robert Skeris,
KCHS. Knights and Dames of
papal orders are not allowed to use the prefix "Sir" or "Dame" in the United Kingdom, although they may use post-nominal letters. Not allowing the prefix is because the use of foreign titles is not permitted by the British Crown without a Royal Licence, and as a matter of policy (currently based on a Royal Warrant of 27 April 1932), a Royal Licence to bear any foreign title is never granted. On the other hand, allowing the post-nominal letters would be explained by the highest and lowest dignities being universal, a king was recognized as king everywhere, and also a knight: "though a Knight receive his Dignity of a Foreign Prince, he is so to be stiled in all Legal Proceedings within England .. and Knights in all Foreign Countries have ever place and precedency according to their Seniority of being Knighted"
Ireland Established in 1783 and primarily awarded to men associated with the
Kingdom of Ireland, Knights of the
Order of St. Patrick were entitled to the style of 'Sir'. Regular creation of new knights of the order ended in 1921 upon the formation of the
Irish Free State. With the death of the last knight in 1974, the Order became dormant. with a profile of
Jose Rizal and the badge of the Order visible.
Philippines Knights of Rizal (
Orden de Caballeros de Rizál) is the sole
order of knighthood of the Philippines currently constituted by legislative charter and recognized by the
Orders, decorations, and medals of the Philippines. Knights are entitled to prefix
Sir to their first names while their wives prefix
Lady to their first names. These apply to both spoken and written forms of address. Knights may also append the relevant post-nominal of their rank to the end of their names: Knight of Rizal (KR), Knight Officer of Rizal (KOR), Knight Commander of Rizal (KCR), Knight Grand Officer of Rizal (KGOR) and Knight Grand Cross of Rizal (KGCR). Knighthood may be conferred to both citizens and noncitizens of the Philippines. All knighthoods are substantive and the honorific may be used by all knights of the Order. Notable members of the Order include
King Juan Carlos I of Spain who was conferred a Knight Grand Cross of Rizal on 11 February 1998,
Nobel Peace Prize winner and former
US Secretary of State Sir
Henry Kissinger, former
Philippine President Sir
Benigno Aquino III, and former
Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of the Philippines and drafter of the
1987 Philippine constitution The Honourable Sir
Hilario Davide, Jr. Combinations with other titles and styles Military In the case of a military officer who is also a knight, the appropriate form of address puts the professional military rank first, then the correct manner of address for the individual, then his name. Examples include: •
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Bruce Fraser,
GCB,
KBE (after 1941) •
Field Marshal Sir Thomas Blamey,
GBE,
KCB,
CMG,
DSO,
ED (after 1941)
Academic This is also the case with academic ranks and titles, such as '
Professor'. For example,
Patrick Bateson was both a professor and a knight bachelor; his correct title would be Professor Sir Patrick Bateson. However, the title of '
Doctor' (Dr.) is not used in combination with 'Sir', with the knighthood taking precedence. Knighted doctors are addressed as knights, though they may still use any post-nominal letters associated with their degrees.
Ecclesiastical Church of England clergy who receive knighthoods following their ordination do not receive an accolade and therefore do not use the title 'Sir', but instead refer to their knighthood using post-nominal letters. For instance, Sir
Nicholas Beatson-Bell KCSI,
KCIE, who was a knighted
Indian Civil Service officer and imperial administrator before entering the ministry, added the style of
The Reverend to his secular honorific of
Sir, thus becoming the Revd. Sir Nicholas Beatson-Bell KCSI, KCIE. Clergy of other denominations may use different conventions.
Peers and nobility Peers who have been knighted are neither styled as 'Sir' nor addressed as such in the formal sense of the style, as their titles of nobility take precedence. The same principle applies for the male
heir apparent to a
dukedom,
marquessate or
earldom, his eldest legitimate son (if he is the heir to a dukedom or marquessate with additional subsidiary peerages), and for the legitimate male issue of a duke or a marquess, who are styled 'Lord' followed by their first name. For instance, diplomat Lord
Nicholas Gordon-Lennox, KCMG, KCVO, who was a younger son of the
Duke of Richmond, continued to be styled as 'Lord Nicholas' following his knighthood in 1986, not 'Lord Sir Nicholas'. Other male heirs of an earl who lack
courtesy titles, and the male heirs of a viscount or baron, do however use the style of 'Sir' if knighted, the style following that of '
The Hon', for example The Honourable Sir
Charles Algernon Parsons, OM, KCB, FRS. ==Educational, military and other usage==