Royal Family Orders

[jcbcode99]

In another thread we've been discussing The Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth, and I thought it might be fun if we start a thread about Royal Family Orders (from all families). They're all decorated so beautifully, and it is always fun to speculate about who has one, why some don't, etc....
But, the design of these orders is always beautiful and I would love if we could get a thread going with photos.

 

[Elspeth]

Any takers? This has the potential to be an interesting thread.

 

[ashelen]

sorry can you explain exactly what the orders means? sorry for my ignorance!

 

[Madame Royale]

A Royal Family Order is an order which is distributed by a Monarch (King or Queen) to female members of his/her family, only (ie; wife, sister, daughter, daughter in-law, granddaughter etc).

Currently, there are four Dynasties which continue this lovely practice.

Denmark, United Kingdom, Sweden and Norway each have a royal family order distributed amongst their respective royal houses.

Each Order is known as 'Royal Family Order of'...and then the monarch's titular officialdom, ie: Margrethe II

 

[jcbcode99]

British Royal Orders:
Nice page with front/back photos of George IV, Edward VII, George V, George VI, Queen Elizabeth II.
ODM of the United Kingdom: Royal Family Orders

Order of Victoria and Albert:
http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/victorians/finals/images/pics/badge.gif

Princess Alexandra's Badge of the Order of Victoria and Albert,
Imagerincess Alexandra’s badge of the Order of Victoria and Albert.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

Wikipedia information about the Order of Victoria and Albert and its classes:
Imagerincess Alexandra’s badge of the Order of Victoria and Albert.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

Information about the recpients of the orders:
Kinge George IV
Royal Family Order of King George IV - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

George V
Royal Family Order of King George V - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

George VI
Royal Family Order of King George VI - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Queen Elizabeth II
Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edward VII
Royal Family Order of King Edward VII - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Warren]

British Royal Orders:Queen Elizabeth II
Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ah Wiki! Sometimes you disappoint.
I see that Miss Zara Phillips has been returned to the list. Last time I looked she had been taken off, before that an editor had tagged her name with an "attribution required" marker, before that she was listed. At one stage she even appeared as "The Hon Zara Phillips" On, off, on off, now back on. We are still waiting for that attribution, or what would be better, credible evidence of any sort that Zara has received an RFO.

For an order whose membership rarely changes, there have been an extraordinary number of edits made to the RFO of Queen Elizabeth II page.
Will someone have removed Zara next time we look? Or will she have been removed by an editor who demands that listings be checked and verified, only to be quickly restored once again by her over-zealous and very determined defender? Strange indeed.

I note that the Zara Phillips Wiki entry makes no mention of an RFO.

 

[jcbcode99]

Unfortunantly, Wiki often disappoints--however there is a pitifully small amount of information out there about the Royal Family orders. I went with what I could find; but I have also noted a lot of inconsistency with regard to Zara.

 

[Warren]

Oh Janet, you've done good!
You've listed all the RFOs with source links for easy and quick reference.
Interesting that Wiki doesn't have photos of the RFOs which may indicate the images are tightly copyright-protected. Still, they could easily find a pic of an RFO being worn to illustrate.

I note that the entries for the George V and George VI RFOs refer to both being awarded in classes. Since photographs of the RFOs issued by each King and worn by the royal ladies appear similar, the graduation of classes must have been rather subtle. Maybe a few additional diamonds in the badge for the senior ladies, but I haven't seen any evidence of it. I can't say that I've noticed any differences in the RFOs of George VI as worn by, for example, Queen Elizabeth and Princess Marina. I thought the number, composition and cut of the diamonds was unique to each sovereign's issue of the Order although there may be slight differences in the diamonds in the crowns above the miniatures.

 

[RoyalProtocol]

Queen Sonja of Norway wore her RFO of King Harald V at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 2002 which I found unusual since it was a foreign order in the UK and bore no relationship to the event, The Queen (EIIR) and her moter, grandmother and sister all work their KGVI RFOs at The King's funeral which makes sense as it related directly to the person being mourned.

Does anyone know of any other situations when Sonja has worn her RFO and has been the only one doing so?

Also Spain has lots of Orders and Decoration so I always found it strange that Juan Carlos didn't issue a RFO- any explanation would be appreciated

 

[Stefan]

She wore it also at the funeral of Prince Rainier III. in 2005. Don't know if she also wore it athe funeral of Pope Johannes Paul II.

 

[RoyalProtocol]

She wore it also at the funeral of Prince Rainier III. in 2005. Don't know if she also wore it athe funeral of Pope Johannes Paul II.

Thanks Stefan- Queen Sonja must just make up her own rules about wearing her RFO!

 

[Lady Claire]

Here is a picture of CP Victoria wearing the Carl XVI Gustaf RFO:
http://www.worldculturepictorial.com/images/content/swedish_crown_princess_victora.jpg
I can't seem to find a better picture or anformation on the FRO.

Does anyone know if Luxembourg has RFOs?

 

[Lalla Meriem]

Luxembourg has only 4 orders all of which are national not house orders (aka family).

The Order of Adolphe of Nassau which is awarded to people who preform heroic acts on behalf or in the name of Luxembourg.

The Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg for civil servants, volunteers, sports figures and other such persons.

The Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau which is shared with Queen Beatrix. It functions differently in Luxembourg than it does in The Netherlands. In the Netherlands it operates as a house order which is what you're asking about. However, in Luxembourg it is a national order that is awarded to royals domestic and foreign and for meritorious service to Luxembourg or The Grand Duke. It is the highest honor of Luxembourg and is not often awarded outside of the visiting dignitary circle although it is awarded to Luxembourgers and foreigners who meet the criteria.

Lastly, The Order of the Oak Crown which is awarded to civil servants, artists and government officers and occasionally foreigners.

All the orders may be awarded to foreigners for service to Luxembourg or the Grand Duke. The Order of Merit and the Order of the Oak Crown are only warded on the Official Birthday of the Grand Duke (National Day).

When an order needs to be awarded within the royal house it is the Order of the Golden Lion that is used. Nearly all the members of the royal family hold this order generally after they reach majority.

 

[Lady Claire]

Thank you very much Lalla Meriem for the information!

Do all the other royal families have RFO's?

 

[Madame Royale]

Queen Sonja of Norway wore her RFO of King Harald V at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 2002 which I found unusual since it was a foreign order in the UK and bore no relationship to the event, The Queen (EIIR) and her moter, grandmother and sister all work their KGVI RFOs at The King's funeral which makes sense as it related directly to the person being mourned.

Does anyone know of any other situations when Sonja has worn her RFO and has been the only one doing so?

I do believe Her Majesty also wore it to the Prince of Wales 60th Birthday party, at Buckingham Palace. An event which did not require white tie ceremonial.

It seems to be worn in honour of the King's absence, as was the case in London.

In the below picture, you can see the ribband of the order on the left shoulder.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k225/comtessede/QS.jpg

 

[Warren]

A better picture of Queen Sonja and RFO.

Queen Sonja: RFO with riband​

¤​

 

[Lady Claire]

Crown Princess Mary wearing the Queen Margrethe II RFO.
Picture

 

[Madame Royale]

I think Mary should be granted use of the late Queen Mother Ingrid's diamond brilliant miniature frame if the diamonds haven't themselves been divided.

 

[jcbcode99]

I think Mary should be granted use of the late Queen Mother Ingrid's diamond brilliant miniature frame if the diamonds haven't themselves been divided.

Agreed; did Alexandra keep hers (assuming she had one)?

 

[Stefan]

Agreed; did Alexandra keep hers (assuming she had one)?

Alexandra had a Family Order with a frame like mary. Probably she wore it at the New Years Courts in 2006 and 2007.
Perhaps Mary will get the frame of Queen Ingrid's Family Order on a special date or after she becomes Queen.

 

[sgl]

Are the frames usually passed on? Or are the frames sometimes created specifically for the recipient?

 

[Madame Royale]

I think it depends on the dynasty.

The frame Queen Margrethe now uses, was once used by her mother, the late Queen Mother Ingrid, when she was consort. I'm certain the frame shall be left to the Crown (if it isn't already) and shall be used be each successive generation of Queen, thus making Mary the next prospective wearer.

Queen Mother Ingrid had a frame crafted consisting of diamond brilliants, having relinquished the former upon her husbands passing. However I'm not sure if those diamonds have since been broken up or if the frame is still intact. It hasn't been seen since Ingrid's passing.

 

[sgl]

Has Princess Marie of Denmark been given a royal family order? I've never seen her wearing one, but I would think that she would be included (especially since Alexandra had (has?) one while she was married to Joachim).

 

[Duchessmary]

Why is it that you see diffrent colors of sashes on the royals when foreign dignitaries visit? Are they presented to other members of royal houses?

 

[Lumutqueen]

Has Princess Marie of Denmark been given a royal family order? I've never seen her wearing one, but I would think that she would be included (especially since Alexandra had (has?) one while she was married to Joachim).

No she hasn't I don't think. She may have been given the medal/bow for Prince Henriks 75th?


Alexandra had

• Knight of the Elephant
• Silver Jubilee Medal of Queen Margarethe of Denmark
• Queen Margrethe's portrait en miniature - but it is not a family order.
• Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose
• Grand Cross with Sash of the Order of the Star of Romania

Why is it that you see diffrent colors of sashes on the royals when foreign dignitaries visit? Are they presented to other members of royal houses?

I believe each country has different colour sashes. Denmark has a light blue, Norway a red with a blue stripe.
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/f233/sashes-879-19.html

 

[Soli Deo Gloria]

Why is it that you see diffrent colors of sashes on the royals when foreign dignitaries visit? Are they presented to other members of royal houses?

Here is a picture from when the King of Norway was on official visit to Sweden...
And King Harald is wearing the most noble swedish order he resieved: The order of the Seraphim - light blue sash (also Haakon Magnus behind have the light blue sash...) And the queen of Sweden (and Victoria behind) in this picture is wearing the most noble norwegian order she got - red and white sash (dont know the name of it). Its a question of courtesy i beleve... And thats how it works. They are wearing the "highest" order they got from the country they visit/ they got from the visiting country.

http://www.royalcourt.se/images/18.a93995105ee8492da80001228/050901+galamiddagPRB.jpg

 

[Thomasine]

The highest Norwegian Order is The St Olav Order.
As for the RFO, it is only in Great Britain it's called a Royal Family Order. It is also the only one where the color of the ribbon changes with the Monarch.
The others are called The Monarch's Portrait en Mineature, worn on ribbon of the highest ranking order of the country.
Queen Sonja did not make up her own rules, the Monarch's portait is worn at events like funerals where the holder is representing his/her country in an offical capacity.

 

[No1_Saint]

Tonga

A great site.

tongders

 

[HRHDuke of Osborne]

Is the Royal order of Victoria and Albert a family order or Just a Regular one? I heard it was Both, any thoughts?

 

[Warren]

See Wiki which lists all the holders.
quotes:
The Royal Order of Victoria and Albert was a Royal Family Order created by Queen Victoria in 1862; no awards were made after her death.
The Order had four classes and was only granted to female members of the Royal Family, a few other female royals, and female courtiers.

The last holder of the order was Princess Alice of Athlone who died in 1981. Like other British Orders which have fallen into disuse, it has never been formally abolished. Every British Sovereign since Victoria has become Sovereign of the Order upon their accession to the throne.