Order of the Oak Crown
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The Order of the Oak Crown (French: Ordre de la couronne de Chêne) is an Order of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
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[edit] History
The Order of the Oak Crown was instituted by the Grand Duke William II, in 1841. At that time, Luxembourg and the Netherlands were in personal union; although the Order was technically a Luxembourgian award, it was often used by William II and his successor, William III, as a house order to reward Dutch subjects, beyond the control of the Dutch government.
William II conferred the order on fewer than 30 recipients. His successor, William III, liked the ability to confer this Order on his sole discretion, and dispersed 300 decorations on the day of his coronation alone. In the following years hundreds of additional appointments in the Order were made. Indeed, there were so many recipients in the Netherlands itself that the Order was widely regarded as a Dutch decoration.
The Order of the Oak Crown ceased to be awarded to Dutch subjects in 1890, when Queen Wilhelmina, as the only remaining member of the House of Orange-Nassau, succeeded her father as the Queen of the Netherlands. As the constitution of Luxembourg, which followed the Salic Law, did not allow women to succeed the throne, the throne of Luxembourg went to Adolphe of Nassau, a German relative. The Order of the Oak Crown remained a Luxembourgian award; the Netherlands established the Order of Orange Nassau and The House Order of Orange instead.
Since the accession of Grand Duke Adolphe, the Order has been primarily an award for Luxembourgers, though it has occasionally been conferred upon foreigners, mainly on members of foreign Royal families.
The Grand Duke of Luxembourg is the Grand Master of the Order.
[edit] Grades and Insignia
[edit] Origin
When first established in 1841, the Order of the Oak Crown was constituted in a hurry, as the Grand Duke wanted to establish the Order before the Grand Duchy was granted a codified constitution (as it was in 1848).[citation needed] The badge, the ribbon, and the (then) four-class structure of the order were inspired by the Russian Order of St. George. This was probably due to the fact that William II was married to a daughter of the Czar, and that he had received the Order of St. George after his gallant command at the Battle of Waterloo.
[edit] Grades
Nowadays the Order consists of five classes:
- Grand Cross - wears the badge on a sash on the right shoulder, and the star on the left chest;
- Grand Officer - wears the badge on a necklet, and the star on the left chest;
- Commander - wears the badge on a necklet;
- Officer - wears the badge on a chest ribbon with rosette on the left chest;
- Knight - wears the badge on a chest ribbon on the left chest;
plus gold, silver and bronze medals, who wear the medal on a chest ribbon on the left chest.
[edit] Insignia
- The badge of the Order is a gilt cross pattée, enamelled in white; the Officer class has a green enamelled oak wreath between the arms of the cross. The central disc bears the crowned monogram "W" (for William) on a green enamel background.
- The star of the Order is (for Grand Cross) an eight-pointed faceted silver star, or (for Grand Officer) a faceted silver Maltese Cross. The central disc bears the crowned monogram "W" (for William) on a green enamel background, surrounded by a red enamel ring with the motto Je Maintiendrai ("I Will Maintain", now the national motto of the Netherlands), in turn surrounded by a green enamelled oak wreath.
- The medal of the Order is in an octagonal shape, with the motif of the badge of the Order without enamel on the obverse, and an oak wreath without enamel on the reverse.
- The ribbon of the Order is yellow with three dark green stripes.
