appointments were discontinued in 1948 when Burma declared independence. Orders formerly associated with the British monarch Royal Guelphic Order The Royal Guelphic Order, also known as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, was an honour founded by George, Prince Regent in the name of his father King George III in 1815. In the United Kingdom it was used only briefly, until the death of William IV in 1837 that resulted in the ending of the personal union with the Kingdom of Hanover due to succession to the throne of Hanover following the Salic Law, unlike in the United Kingdom where women could inherit the throne. The order continued for some time as a national order of Hanover until the defeat and forced dissolution of the kingdom by Prussia in 1866. Since then the order has been a house order to be awarded by the House of Hanover. The order's current head is Ernst August Prinz von Hanover, head of the house of Hanover. The Order includes two Divisions, Civil and Military. During the personal union of the United Kingdom and Hanover it originally had three classes, but with several reorganizations since 1841 as house order today it has four classes and an additional Cross of Merit. Decorations Current awarded decorations in order of wear: On 1 July 2009, BBC News reported that the Queen had approved a new posthumous award, the Elizabeth Cross, to honour members of the armed forces killed in action or by terrorist attack since World War II. The cross itself is given to the family of the deceased. Other honours and appointments Hereditary peerage There are five ranks of hereditary peerage: duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron. Until the mid-20th century, peerages were usually hereditary, and, until the end of the 20th century, English, Scottish, British, and UK peerages (except, until very recent times, those for the time being held by women) carried the right to a seat in the House of Lords. Hereditary peerages are now normally given only to members of the Royal Family. The most recent were the grants to the Queen's youngest son, the Earl of Wessex, on his marriage in 1999; to the Queen's grandson Prince William, who was made the Duke of Cambridge on the morning before his marriage to Catherine Middleton on 29 April 2011; and to the Queen's grandson Prince Harry, who was made the Duke of Sussex on the