Order of the British Empire

==Composition==
The [[British sovereign]] is the supreme head of the order and appoints all other officers of the order (by convention, on the advice of the governments of the United Kingdom and some [[Commonwealth realm]]s). The second senior-most officer is the [[Grand Master (order)|Grand Master]], of whom there have been three: [[Edward VIII|Edward, Prince of Wales]] (1917–1936); [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]] (1936–1953); and [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]] (1953–2021).

The order is limited to 300 Knights and Dames Grand Cross, 845 Knights and Dames Commander, and 8,960 Commanders. There are no limits applied to the total number of members of the fourth and fifth classes, but no more than 858 officers and 1,464 members may be appointed per year. Foreign appointees, as honorary members, do not contribute to the numbers restricted to the order as full members do. Although the Order of the British Empire has by far the highest number of members of the British orders of chivalry, with over 100,000 living members worldwide, there are fewer appointments to knighthoods than in other orders.<ref name="obe_royal"/>

Though men can be knighted separately from an order of chivalry ([[Knight Bachelor]]), women cannot, and so the rank of Knight/Dame Commander of the Order is the lowest rank of damehood, and second-lowest of knighthood (above Knights Bachelor). Because of this, an appointment as Dame Commander is made in circumstances in which a man would be created a Knight Bachelor. For example, by convention, female judges of the [[High Court of Justice]] are created Dames Commander after appointment, while male judges become Knights Bachelor.

From time to time, individuals are appointed to a higher grade within the Order, thereby ceasing usage of the junior post-nominal letters.

===Officers===
In addition to the Sovereign and the [[Grand Master (order)|Grand Master]], the order has six further officers:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.centralchancery.org.uk/Content/documents/OBE%20Newsletter%20Dec2015.pdf|title=The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire : Newsletter|date=December 2015|publisher=The [[Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood]]|accessdate=23 April 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724090009/https://www.centralchancery.org.uk/Content/documents/OBE%20Newsletter%20Dec2015.pdf |archive-date= Jul 24, 2019 }}</ref>

* '''Prelate''': [[Bishop of London]], the Rt Hon. & Rt Rev. Dame [[Sarah Mullally]] {{postnominals|country=GBR|DBE}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=HM Government |date=7 December 2018 |title=Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/3162918 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410125915/https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/3162918 |archive-date=10 April 2023 |access-date=22 December 2018 |website=The London Gazette}}</ref>
* '''Dean''': [[List of Deans of St Paul's|Dean of St Paul's]] ({{Lang|la|[[ex officio]]}}), the Very Rev. [[Andrew Tremlett]]
* '''Secretary''': [[Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood|The Secretary of the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood]], Lt-Col Stephen Segrave
* '''Registrar''': [[Cabinet Secretary (United Kingdom)|The Secretary of the Cabinet and Head of the Home Civil Service]], [[Simon Case]] {{postnominals|country=GBR|CVO}}
* '''King of Arms''': Lt-Gen Sir [[Robert Fulton (Royal Marines officer)|Robert Fulton]] {{postnominals|country=GBR|KBE|KStJ}}
* '''Lady Usher of the Purple Rod''': Dame [[Amelia Fawcett]] {{postnominals|country=GBR|DBE|CVO}}

The [[King of Arms of the Order of the British Empire|King of Arms]] is not a member of the [[College of Arms]], as are many other [[heraldry|heraldic]] officers. The [[Lady Usher of the Purple Rod]] does not – unlike the [[Order of the Garter]] equivalent, the [[Black Rod|Lady Usher of the Black Rod]] – perform any duties related to the [[House of Lords]].