the husband of Margaret Thatcher, Sir Denis Thatcher, later inherited by their son Mark Thatcher. Knighthood Descended from medieval chivalry, knights exist both within the orders of chivalry and in a class known as Knights Bachelor. Regular recipients include High Court judges and Chief Constables. Knighthood carries the title sir; the female equivalent dame exists only within the orders of chivalry—Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) is usually awarded as an equivalent of a Knight Bachelor. Order of St John Members of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem (founded 1888) may wear the Order's insignia but the ranks within the Order of St John do not confer official rank in the order of precedence and, likewise, the abbreviations or postnominal initials associated with the various grades of membership in the Order of St John do not indicate precedence among the other orders. Thus someone knighted in the order does not take precedence with the knights of other British orders nor should they be addressed as "Sir" or "Dame". Other orders Other British and Commonwealth orders, decorations and medals which do not carry titles but entitle the holder to place post-nominal letters after his or her name also exist, as do a small number of Royal Family Orders. British honours in the Commonwealth realms Until the mid-20th century, the British honours system was the primary—and generally the sole—honours system utilised across the various dominions and territories of the British Empire, which became the Commonwealth of Nations from 1949. Today, British honours and decorations continue to be awarded to citizens of Commonwealth realms and British Overseas Territories. Within the Commonwealth realms, however, the nature of the British honour or decoration awarded and the permissibility of its conferment varies from government to government. The British honours system comprises both dynastic honours, which are honours in the personal gift of the Sovereign, and British state honours or decorations (known as imperial honours or decorations outside the UK), which are not. Dynastic honours continue to be conferred by the Sovereign in her capacity across the Commonwealth realms, though outside the United Kingdom they are typically non-titular honours such as the Order of Merit or the lower grades of the Royal Victorian Order. In 1917 and 1919, the government of Canada passed the Nickle Resolutions, which, despite being non-binding, gradually ended the conferment of titular honours—peerages,