The Sun.
London, England, 1860-12-18 00:00:00

COURT CIRCULAR.

WINDSOR CASTLE, Dec. 17.
The Queen held a Chapter of the Most Noble Order of
the Garter this afternoon at the castle.
Her Majesty was conducted, at 3 o'clock, by the Lord
Chamberlain and the Lord Steward, to a chair of state in
the Throne Room, in which the Chapter was held. The
Queen, the Sovereign of the Order, wore the mantle and
the gold and enamelled collar of the Garter. The Prince
Consort and the Prince of Wales, both wearing the mantle,
hood, and collar of the Order, accompanied her Majesty,
who was attended by the Mistress of the Robes, the• Lady
in Waiting, and the principal officers of the household.
The Knights Companions of the Garter were robed in the
vestibule by Mr. Hunter, in their blue velvet mantles.
Each knight also wore the hood of crimson velvet upon the
right shoulder, and the collar of the Order.
Garter called over the Knights Companions in the Water-
loo Gallery, when the following answered :—The Duke of
Cambridge, the Marquis of Exeter, Marquis Camden, the
Earl of Clarendon, the Marquis of Normanby, the Earl of
Carlisle, Viscount Palmerston, Earl Granville, the Marquis
of Westminster, the Duke of Devonshire, and the Earl of
Harrowby.
The officers of the Order present were the Prelate, the
Bishop of Winchester; the Chancellor, the Bishop of
Oxford ; Garter, Principal King of Arras; Sir Charles G.
Young; and the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, Sir
Augustus Clifford, Bart.
The Knights Companions entered the Thiene or Chapter
Room, and took their seats according to their seniority in
the Order, on either side of the Chapter table, which was
covered with blue velvet.
The officers of the Order took their usual stations.
The Chancellor of the Order notified the Queen's royal
will and.pleasure that the vacant stall in the Royal Chapel
of St. George, at Windsor, should be filled up, and as none
but a knight can be elected, the Most Noble Henry Duke of
Newcastle was introduced between Garter and Black Rod.
His grace was conducted to the Queen, and kneeling before
her, received from her Majesty the honour of Knighthood,
which was conferred with the Sword of State. The noble
Duke kissed his Sovereign's hand and retired from the
Chapter-room.
The Knights proceeded to the election, and the suffrages
were collected by the Chancellor, and presented to the
Queen, who commanded him to declare that the Most Noble
Henry Duke of Newcastle had been duly elected a Knight
of the most noble Order of the Garter.
By the Sovereign's command, the Duke of Newcastle was
received at the door of the Chapte:.'-room by the Duke of
Devonshire and the Earl of Harrowby, the two junior
Knights Companions present, and was conducted between
them to the Queen, preceded by Garter, bearing the ensigns
of the Order upon a velvet cushion, and by Black Rod. The
Duke knelt near her Majesty, and the Queen, assisted by
the Prince Consort, buckled the garter on his left leg, the
Chancellor pronouncing tke usual admonition.
Garter presented the riband with the George appendant,
and the Queen, assisted by the Prince of Wales, passed
the same over the Duke's left shoulder and under the right
arm, the Chancellor pronouncing the admonition. His
Grace again kissed her Majesty's hand.
The Duke of Newcastle, having received the congratula-
tions of the Prince Consort, the Prince of Wales, the Duke
of Cambridge, and the Knights Companions, retired.
Garter, by her Majesty's command, again called over the
Knights Companions, who with the officers of the Order
retired from the presence of the Queen.
The Princess Alice, Prince Alfred, and Prince Louis of
Hesse, stood behind her Majesty, to witness the ceremony
in the Throne-room.
The court was attended by the various officers of the
household.
The Yeomen of the Guard were on duty in the Waterloo
Gallery and Grand Reception-room under the command•of
the Exon in Waiting.
Colonel Fitzmaurice, adjutant of the corps, attended.
A guard of honour of the Scots Eusilier Guards was on
duty with the band of the Regiment within the Quadrangle
of the Castle during the ceremony.
The Queen held a Privy Council at five o'clock. It was
attended by his Royal Highness the Prince Consort, Earl
Granville, Lord President; Viscount Palmerston, First
Lord of the Treasury; the Duke of Newcastle, Secretary
of State for the Colonies ; the Right Hon. T. Milner Gib-
son, President of the Board of Trade; the Earl of St. Ger-
mans, Lord Steward ; Viscount Sydney, Lord Chamber-
lain ; and Earl Spencer, Groom of the Stole to the Prince

Consort.
At the council parliament was ordered to be further pro-
rogued from the 3d January until the sth February, and
a proclamation was issued summoning parliament to meet
for the despatch of business on the sth February.
A proclamation was issued giving currency to the new
bronze or metal coinage.
Lord Bloomfield, by command of the Queen, was sworn
one of her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, and
took his seat at the board.
Mr. A. Helps, clerk to the Privy Council, attended.
Earl Granville had an audience of the Queen.
Her Majesty was attended by Viscount Castle Rosse,
Vice Chamberlain; Viscount Torrington, Lord-in-Wait-
ing; and the Hon. Mortimer Sackville 'West, Groom-in-
Waiting.
The Prince Consort, accompanied by the Prince of Wales,
Prince Alfred, Prince Louis of Hesse, and the Prince of
Leiningen, went out shooting this morning.
The Rev. A. P. Stanley left the Castle in the forenoon.
The Queen gave a grand dinner in the evening in the