The real origins of the Royal Order (and Freemasonry itself) are lost in the mists of time. There are legendary statements that the ROS was created by Robert the Bruce, possibly based on themes brought back for the Holy Land after the Crusades. Being a Christian Order and from the wording of the part of the ritual, it seems that it was established (or revived) soon after Freemasonry took the step to admit members who had other religious beliefs. What is known is that a Lodge was working in London in 1740 and another Chartered in The Hague in 1750. The earliest surviving records are from Edinburgh in 1766 and from 1786 was know as the Grand Lodge.
The Order as we now know it was revived in 1837 by the former Deputy Grand Master and Governor Brother Houston Rigg Brown, on his return to Edinburgh after an absence of some years. The Order consisted of two degrees, called the Heredom of Kilwinning and Knight of the Rosy Cross. It is believed that the ritual we now have is based on his memory of what had been worked, as no ritual books were then available; when earlier rituals came to light, they were found to be very consistent with his work. It is this ritual that continues to be used today, with a few very minor changes. Within the ritual itself are many elements that are today found in many other Masonic Orders in extended forms. Unlike many other rituals that are either of more recent date or have been embellished and reformed, ours is one of the oldest rituals in continues use.
In 1852 a Provincial Grand Lodge was chartered for Sweden and since that date the order has continued to gently expand. A Provincial Grand Lodge was established for London and Metropolitan Counties in 1872, the United States of America in 1877, as well as across many areas of the British Empire, so that by 1900 there were 14 Provinces. The forerunner of our own Province was established as the Southern Counties of England in 1915, the 18th Province and 4th in England. In the post war period, the order grew by leaps and bounds and today there are 91 Provinces across the world with a membership of around 15,000. The Order now has its own headquarters in Edinburgh where the Grand Lodges hosts its annual meeting, supported by our worldwide membership.