 Members are assigned positions in the order of precedence , coming before all others of knightly rank , and above baronets . The wives , sons , daughters and daughters @-@ in @-@ law of Knights Companion are also assigned precedence . Relatives of Ladies Companion are not , however , assigned any special positions . ( Generally , individuals can derive precedence from their fathers or husbands , but not from their mothers or wives . ) The Chancellor is also assigned precedence , but except for the period between 1553 and 1671 when the office was held by a layman who was not necessarily a member of the Order , this precedence has been purely theoretical . As a member of the Order , the Chancellor has a higher precedence than that attached to the office , and when the office was filled by a diocesan bishop of the Church of England , the holder again had a higher precedence by virtue of that office than any that the chancellorship could bestow . 
