The Imperial Order of the Crown of India

• Time Period: Pre-WW1
• Year of Institution: 1 January 1878
• Country: Great Britain

The Imperial Order of the Crown of India is an order in the British honors system open only to women and established by Queen Victoria in 1878 when she became Empress of India. The members of the Order could use the post-nominal letters “CI“, but did not acquire any special precedence or status due to it.

No additional appointments have been made since the Partition of India in 1947. The Order was limited to British princesses, wives or female relatives of Indian princes and the wife or female relatives of any person who held the office of:

• Viceroy of India,
• Governor of Madras,
• Governor of Bombay,
• Governor of Bengal,
• Commander-in-Chief India,
• Secretary of State for India,
• Governor-General of India.

Queen Elizabeth II is the last surviving former member (now Sovereign) of the Order. Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester was the last ordinary member at the time of her death in 2004.

The Imperial Order of the Crown of India Design

The badge of the Order includes Queen Victoria’s Imperial Cypher, VRI (“Victoria Regina Imperatrix”). The letters were set in diamonds, pearls, and turquoises and were together surrounded by a border of pearls, surrounded by an oval frame and surmounted by a figure of the Imperial Crown.

The badge was worn attached to a light blue silk bow, with narrow white stripes towards the edges, on the left shoulder.