At any one time how many holders are there of the Order of Merit?
Order of Merit of age. All citizens of the Commonwealth realms are eligible for appointment to the Order of Merit. There may be, however, only 24 living individuals in the order at any given time, not including honorary appointees, and new members are personally selected by the reigning monarch of the realms, currently Queen Elizabeth II, with the assistance of her private secretaries; the order has thus been described as "quite possibly, the most prestigious honour one can receive on planet Earth." Within the limited membership is a designated military division, with its own unique insignia; though it has not been abolished, it
Order of Military Merit (Canada) an extraordinary commander, officer, or member. There are no limits to the population of any grade, and promotions are possible, though this is ordinarily not done within five years of the initial appointment. Any person thus honoured must return their lower grade insignia, as no member may at any time hold more than one appointment in the organization. Further, within the order of precedence for Canadian honours, each grade of the Order of Military Merit precedes a similar grade of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces, with commanders succeeding the members of the Order of Canada. Upon admission