Garter

GARTER substantive – Sort of ribbon, or strap, made of fabric and with which one’s stockings are held up, above or below the knee: elastic garters.
– Order of the Garter, the highest English order of chivalry. Some writers believe that this order date back to a tournament held in Windsor on 23 April 1344, to which Edward III invited ies most illustrious knights. According to an old tradition, the Countess of Salisbury having dropped her garter at a dance at the court, the King picked it up and, on seeing the smiles of his courtiers, he exclaimed strongly: Honni soit qui mal y pense. The garter, the emblem of the order, is in dark blue velvet, fringed with gold, and bears as a motto the words of the king in gold letters. it is worn on the left leg, below the knee. By a statute of 5 January 1805, the order consists of the sovereign and 25 knights, and special statutes, published since, admit foreign sovereigns and other personalities. The knights are refered to by the initials K. G.: Knights of the Garter. In 1876 there were, besides the Queen and the Prince of Wales, 48 knights, including 5 members of the royal family, the main foreign sovereigns and 25 English peers.
 
Extract from the Trousset encyclopedia, 1886 – 1891.