Editing Knight (section)

=====England and the United Kingdom=====
Women were appointed to the [[Order of the Garter]] almost from the start. In all, 68 women were appointed between 1358 and 1488, including all consorts. Though many were women of royal blood, or wives of knights of the Garter, some women were neither. They wore the garter on the left arm, and some are shown on their tombstones with this arrangement. After 1488, no other appointments of women are known, although it is said that the Garter was conferred upon Neapolitan poet Laura Bacio Terricina, by [[Edward VI of England|King Edward VI]]. In 1638, a proposal was made to revive the use of robes for the wives of knights in ceremonies, but this did not occur. [[List of British consorts|Queens consort]] have been made [[List of Knights and Ladies of the Garter|Ladies of the Garter]] since 1901 ([[Alexandra of Denmark|Queens Alexandra]] in 1901,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue= 27284|date= 13 February 1901|page=1139|supp=y }}</ref> [[Mary of Teck|Mary]] in 1910 and [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Elizabeth]] in 1937). The first non-royal woman to be made Lady Companion of the Garter was [[Lavinia Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk|The Duchess of Norfolk]] in 1990,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue= 52120|date= 24 April 1990|page=8251}}</ref> the second was [[Margaret Thatcher|The Baroness Thatcher]] in 1995<ref>{{London Gazette |issue= 54017|date= 25 April 1995|page=6023}}</ref> (post-nominal: LG). On 30 November 1996, [[Marion Fraser|Lady Fraser]] was made [[List of Knights and Ladies of the Thistle|Lady of the Thistle]],<ref>{{London Gazette |issue= 54597|date= 3 December 1996|page=15995}}</ref> the first non-royal woman (post-nominal: LT). (See Edmund Fellowes, ''Knights of the Garter'', 1939; and Beltz: ''Memorials of the Order of the Garter''). The first woman to be granted a knighthood in modern Britain seems to have been Nawab Sikandar Begum Sahiba, Nawab Begum of Bhopal, who became a Knight Grand Commander of the [[Order of the Star of India]] (GCSI) in 1861, at the foundation of the order. Her daughter received the same honor in 1872, as well as her granddaughter in 1910. The order was open to "princes and chiefs" without distinction of gender. The first European woman to have been granted an order of knighthood was Queen Mary, when she was made a Knight Grand Commander of the same order, by special statute, in celebration of the Delhi Durbar of 1911.<ref>Biddle, Daniel A. ''Knights of Christ : Living today with the Virtues of Ancient Knighthood'' (Kindle Edition). West Bow Press. (May 22, 2012). p.xxx. ASIN: B00A4Z2FUY</ref> She was also granted a [[Dame (title)|damehood]] in 1917 as a [[Grand Cross|Dame Grand Cross]], when the [[Order of the British Empire]] was created<ref>{{London Gazette |issue= 30250|date= 24 August 1917|page=8794|supp=y }}</ref> (it was the first order explicitly open to women). The Royal Victorian Order was opened to women in 1936, and the [[Order of the Bath|Orders of the Bath]] and [[Order of St Michael and St George|Saint Michael and Saint George]] in 1965 and 1971 respectively.<ref name="heraldica1">{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldica.org/topics/orders/wom-kn.htm |title=Women Knights |publisher=Heraldica.org |access-date=2011-08-23}}</ref>