The fount of honour refers to a nation's head of state, who, by virtue of his or her official position, has the exclusive right of conferring legitimate titles of nobility and orders of chivalry to other persons.

Contrary to a popular myth, for a person to be made a nobility or a knight does not give him or her the right to confer titles of Nobility or Orders of Chivalry to others. No person, other than the head of state, can be a fount of honour without the explicit permission of the head of state. For example, in the United Kingdom, where the fount of honour is the Monarch (the King or Queen), some societies have permissions from the Monarch to award medals, but these are to be worn on the right side of the chest. In France, however, non-government orders and medals are not allowed to be worn at all.

See Also

• British honours system