 King Edward III founded the Order of the Garter around the time of his claim to the French throne . The year is usually presumed to be 1348 , however , the Complete Peerage , under " The Founders of the Order of the Garter " , states the order was first instituted on 23 April 1344 , listing each founding member as knighted in 1344 . The list includes Sir Sanchet D 'Abrichecourt , who died on 20 October 1345 . Other dates from 1344 to 1351 have also been proposed . The King 's wardrobe account shows Garter habits first issued in the autumn of 1348 . Also , its original statutes required that each member of the Order already be a knight ( what would now be referred to as a knight bachelor ) and some of the initial members listed were only knighted that year . 
