Until the reign of Henry VIII, the Order of the Garter, most ancient of the great knightly orders, had no collar. But the Tudor king wished to match the continental sovereigns in all things, and the present collar of the Garter knights, with its golden knots and its buckled garters enclosing white roses set on red roses, has its origin in the Tudor age. Most of the British orders of knighthood have collars and they are still worn on special occasions (see Collar days). The Distinguished Service Order, the Order of Merit, the Order of the Companions of Honour and the Imperial Service Order are the exceptions.