The
Royal Guelphic Order , sometimes also referred to as the
Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the
Prince Regent (later King George IV). Named for the
House of Guelph, of whom of the Hanoverians were a branch, it has not been conferred by the British Crown since the death of
King William IV in 1837, when the
personal union of the
United Kingdom and
Hanover ended. It continued to be conferred by the
Kingdom of Hanover as an independent state and subsequently. After the defeat and forced dissolution of the Kingdom of Hanover by the Kingdom of Prussia, the order continued as a
house order to be awarded by the
Royal House of Hanover. Today, its current chancellor is the Hanoverian head of the house,
Ernst August, Prince of Hanover. The honour is named after the
House of Guelph to which the Hanoverian kings belonged, and its insignia were based on the white horse of that kingdom's arms.