Vicky Pryce has been thrown out of the Order of the Bath by hereditary head of state Windsor.
Ms. Pryce was awarded the honour for “services to economics” and lost it because she was convicted of perverting the course of justice. This was thought by Windsor and her advisers to have brought the feudal honours system into disrepute.
The Gilbert and Sullivan-like absurdity of the honours system was reflected in the notice of the dishonouring. It read “The Queen has directed that the appointment of Vicky, Mrs Pryce, to be a Member of the Civil Division of the Third Class, or Companion, of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, dated June 13 2009, shall be cancelled and annulled and that her name shall be erased from the Register of the said Order.’’
Britain’s state honours are intended to be permanent. One of the most notable demonstrations of the problem with this was provided by Robert Mugabe. He was given a knighthood, a rather high-level honour. But it was taken from him because of his human rights abuses.
Originally the Order of the Bath did involve bathing to represent purification. It seems that in the absence of that ritual bathing Ms. Pryce was not purified!.