The highly important Stuart period Lesser George sash badge conferred upon Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent, who was elected a Knight of the Garter in October 1712, and, after the death of Queen Anne in 1714 was appointed one of the Lords Justices during the absence of King George I

The Most Noble Order of the Garter, K.G., Lesser George sash badge, the central gold and enamelled figure of Saint George mounted on a white horse slaying the dragon with a lance, modelled in the round, surrounded by the oval Garter in gold, the motto on blue enamel ground, surmounted by integral gold foliate suspension, 80mm x 49mm, early 18th century, some minor enamel damage commensurate with age, otherwise good very fine and of the highest rarity, amongst the earliest badges of the Order known to exist £25000-35000

Provenance: Spink, July 1995, ‘The property of the Late Baroness Lucas and Dingwall’s Trust; Henry Grey, Duke of Kent, and thence by descent to the present owner’. The Greater George collar badge belonging to Henry Grey, Duke of Kent, was offered for sale in the same auction.

Of the highest rarity and possibly the only badge of this period available to collectors. Two other badges of similar age and appearance are known, one in the Royal Trust Collection and one in the Collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Henry de Grey (1671-1740) was a son of Anthony Grey, 11th Earl of Kent, and Mary Grey, 1st Baroness Lucas of Crudwell. He succeeded his father as 12th Earl of Kent in 1702, having succeeded his mother as 2nd Baron Lucas earlier the same year. Having taken his seat in the House of Lords, he was made Lord Chamberlain and Privy Counsellor in 1704. After trading his position for a dukedom, as the 1st Duke of Kent, in 1710, he held a series of politically minor positions as Lord of the Bedchamber and Constable of Windsor Castle (1714-16), Lord Steward of the Household (1716-19), and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal (1718-20). He was elected Knight of the Garter on 25 October 1712, and installed by Queen Anne on 4 August 1713, the ceremony being recorded in a magnificent painting by Peter Angelis, purchased by the National Portrait Gallery in 1881 (NPG 624). Grey was appointed a Lord Justice of the Realm after the death of Queen Anne in 1714 to oversee the proper administration of the Kingdom prior to the accession of King George, and he again held the position in 1719 during the absence of the King. Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent, died without surviving male issue on 5 June 1740. His titles of Baron Lucas and Marquess Grey were inherited by his granddaughter Jemima Yorke. Sold with extensive research that shows that the direct paternal ancestor of Henry de Grey was the maternal uncle of William the Conqueror, King of England.