Order of the Garter the Prime Minister Clement Attlee and the Leader of the Opposition Winston Churchill, membership of the United Kingdom's highest ranking orders of chivalry (the Order of the Garter, the Order of the Thistle and the dormant Order of St. Patrick) became a personal gift of the Sovereign once again. Thus, the Sovereign personally selects Knights and Ladies Companion of the Garter, and need not act on or solicit the advice of His or Her Government. In addition, the Order includes supernumerary members, who do not count towards the limit of 24 companions. Several supernumerary members, known as "Royal Knights and
Order of the Ermine (France) had wrought exceptional service to the sovereign Duchy of Brittany. Other than the Order of the Hatchet of Tortosa, which was founded in 1149, this Breton order of chivalry has the only-known medieval instance of a woman, Katherine Potier, serving as an Officer of Arms; she bore the title of "Espy Herault". She was appointed to the office after the death of her husband, Yves, by Duchess Anne of Brittany. Ackermann mentions this chivalric order as historical order of France. And that is because, notionally, it could have been said to have been in the gift of Duchess Anne de