John Howard enjoys select company with the Queen
Former Australian prime minister John Howard was a guest of the Queen at Windsor Castle yesterday.
Former Australian prime minister John Howard was a guest of the Queen at Windsor Castle yesterday as a revered member of the most exclusive club in the world, members of the Order of Merit.
Just 24 living people worldwide are invited by the Queen to be bestowed with the order, considered an intellectual honour founded by Edward VII in 1902.
Mr Howard is one of two current Australian members of the order. Australian scientist Robert May, 79, also known as Lord May of Oxford, is a member too.
Past members include Florence Nightingale; composers Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Benjamin Britten; writers Thomas Hardy and TS Eliot; politicians Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher; and Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela. This week members had a formal lunch with the Queen and Prince Phillip, a tradition held every other year.
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