Venerable Order of Saint John
The Order of St. John's biggest leap forward came in 1888, when Queen Victoria granted the society a royal charter, yet again renaming the order, this time as the Grand Priory of the Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem in England. This was altered in 1926 to the Grand Priory in the British Realm of the Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, and then in 1936 as the Grand Priory in the British Realm of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem. In 1961 it played a role in the establishment of the Alliance of the Orders of St. John of Jerusalem, and thereafter finally received through a concordat in 1963 collateral recognition by the Order of Malta. The most recent royal charter was issued in 1955, with a supplemental charter released in 1974, recognizing the world-wide scope of the organization by setting its present name. In 1999, the order was granted special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.