The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest award of the United Kingdom honours system. It is awarded for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" to members of the British armed forces. It may be awarded posthumously. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians under military command although no civilian has received the award since 1879.

Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857, two thirds of all awards have been presented personally by the British monarch. Most of the award ceremonies have usually been held at Buckingham Palace.

The VC was introduced on January 29, 1856 by Queen Victoria. Since then, the medal has been awarded 1,358 times to 1,355 individual recipients. However, only fifteen (15) VC medals have been awarded since World War II.

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