Dynastic order of knighthood

A dynastic order of knighthood is an order belonging to the heraldic patrimony of a dynasty, often held by ancient right. These differ from military, religious, and orders of merit belonging to a particular state, having been instituted to reward personal services rendered to a sovereign, dynasty, or an ancient family of princely rank. An example of this difference is seen between the Royal Victorian Order, which is in the personal gift of the sovereign (and thus is a dynastic order), and the Order of the British Empire, which is bestowed by the sovereign on the basis of recommendations by the Prime Minister (and thus is a national order).

Domain of the sovereign

Dynastic orders are the exclusive domain of a sovereign and are thus bestowed by the monarch without the advice of the political leadership (prime minister or cabinet). For instance, a recent report by the British government mentioned that there is "one remaining exercise that has been identified of the Monarch’s truly personal, executive prerogative: that is, the conferment of certain honours that remain within her gift (the Orders of Merit, of the Garter, of the Thistle and the Royal Victorian Order)."^[1] Generally, Dynastic or House Orders are granted by the monarch for whatever reason the monarch may deem appropriate^[2] whereas other orders, often called Merit Orders, are granted on the recommendation of government officials to recognize individual accomplishments or services to the nation.^[3]

The term Dynastic Order is also used for those orders which continue to be bestowed by former monarchs and their descendants after they have been removed from power. For instance, the website of Duarte Pio de Bragança,^[4] a pretender to the throne of Portugal using the title Duke of Braganza, asserts that the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa,^[5] "being a Dynastic Order of the House of Bragança and not an Order of State, continued to be conferred by the last King Dom Manuel II, in the exile."^[6] On the basis of his succession to King Manuel II, Duarte Pio continues to award those orders of the Kingdom of Portugal^[7] which were not taken over by the Portuguese Republic.^[8] The Portuguese Republic views things somewhat differently, regarding all the royal orders as extinct following the 5 October 1910 revolution with some of them revived in republican form in 1918.^[9] For official purposes, Portugal simply ignores the orders awarded by the royal pretender, Duarte Pio.^[10] Although no one is prosecuted for accepting orders from Dom Duarte, including himself, Portuguese law requires government permission to accept any official award, either from Portugal or foreign powers, and the awards of Dom Duarte simply do not appear anywhere on either list.^[11]

A similar situation exists in Italy where the Republican Government regards the orders of the former kings to have been abolished^[12] but the last king's heir continues to award them.^[13] The Italian situation differs from that in Portugal in that Italy forbids the public wearing of the former royal orders in Italy.^[14] Nevertheless, the last Italian Crown Prince Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia widely distributes the orders that he claims to have inherited from his father.^[15] As is the situation in Portual, the Italian pretender asserts that control of the Savoy dynastic orders exists separate from the Kingdom of Italy so that he retains the right to award the orders, and accompanying privileges, despite his recognition that "the Italian throne was formally abolished by referendum in 1946 and a republic was instituted in its place."^[16]

Various dynastic orders

There are many dynastic orders of knighthood, which exist primarily in Europe. Today, dynastic orders include those still bestowed by a reigning monarch, those bestowed by a head of a royal house in exile, and those that have become extinct. Although it is sometimes asserted that the heads of former reigning houses retain the right to their dynastic orders but cannot create new ones,^[17] that view is challenged by others who believe that the power to create orders remains with a dynasty forever.^[18] In a few cases, formerly reigning families are accused of "fudging" the issue by claiming to revive long extinct orders^[19] or by changing non-dynastic state orders into dynastic ones.^[20] One example of this is the Order of Saint Michael of the Wing^[21] which is sometimes described as a revival of a long dormant order last awarded in the eighteenth century^[22] but also described as a new order created in 2004.^[23] Another example concerns the Royal Order of Francis I of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. One branch of the family (lead by Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro) claims that the Order of Francis I was attached to the crown not the state, and thus awards its as a dynastic order.^[24] The other branch (lead by Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria) regards the Order of Francis I as a state order that became extinct when the Borbon-Two Sicilies royal family accepted the abolition of their monarchy and the state's inclusion in the Kingdom of Italy.^[25] Finally, there is the example of a Russian pretender Maria Vladimirovna who published a decree on 20 August 2010 to create the entirely new The Imperial Order of the Holy Great Martyr Anastasia.^[26]

Bestowed by a reigning royal head

• The Order of the Garter (United Kingdom)^[27]
• The Noble Order of the Golden Fleece (Spain)^[28]
• The Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau (The Netherlands as well as Luxembourg)^[29]
• The Royal Victorian Order (Commonwealth realms)^[30]
• The Order of the Elephant (Denmark)^[31]
• The Order of Merit (Commonwealth realms)^[32]
• The Order of the House of Orange (The Netherlands)^[33]

Bestowed by non-reigning head of a house

• The Order of St. George (Bavaria-Wittelsbach)
• The Order of St. Hubert (Bavaria-Wittelsbach)
• The Imperial Ethiopian Order of Saint Mary of Zion (Ethiopia)
• The Order of the Holy Spirit (France)
• The Order of Saint Michael (France)
• The House Order of Hohenzollern (Hohenzollern, Germany)
• The Imperial Austrian Order of Elizabeth (Habsburg-Lorraine)^[34]
• The Noble Order of the Golden Fleece (Habsburg-Lorraine)^{[35] [36]}
• The Order of the Starry Cross (Habsburg-Lorraine)^{[37] [38]}
• The Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary (Hungary)
• The Order of Prince Danilo I (Montenegro)
• The Order of Petrovic Njegos (Montenegro)
• The Order of Saint Peter of Cetinje (Montenegro)
• The Order of Saint George of Parma (Parma)^{[39] [40]}
• The Order of the Saint Louis for Civil Merit (Parma)^[41]
• The Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (Portugal, House of Braganza)^[42]
• The Order of Saint Isabel (Portugal, House of Braganza)
• The Order of Saint Michael of the Wing (Portugal, House of Braganza)^[43]
• The Order of Carol I (Romania, a state order founded in 1906, discontinued with King Michael's abdication in 1947, and then revived by him on 5 January 2005 as a dynastic order)^[44]
• The Order of Saint Anna (Imperial House of Russia) ^[45]
• The Order of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker (Imperial House of Russia, a new order created in exile on 1 August 1929 by the pretender Cyril Vladimirovich, a cousin of the last Tsar, Nicholas II of Russia)^[46]
• The Royal Order of the Intare (Rwanda)
• The Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation (Savoy)
• The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (Savoy)
• The Order of Parfaite Amitié (Thurn and Taxis)
• The Order of Saint Joseph (Tuscany)
• The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George (Two Sicilies)
• The Royal & Illustrious Order of St. Januarius (Two Sicilies)

References