| Order of the Oak Crown Ordre de la couronne de Chêne |
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| Officer's cross with ribbon of the Order of the Oak Crown | |
| Awarded by Grand Duchy of Luxembourg | |
| Type | Chivalric order with five grades |
| Motto | JE MAINTIENDRAI |
| Day | Only awarded on Grand Duke's Official Birthday (23 June) |
| Eligibility | Eligible to members of government, deputies, state councillors, civil servants, elected representatives and personnel of municipal administrations, key players of the economic, social, cultural or sport sectors as well as to volunteers. Can also be awarded to foreigners. |
| Awarded for | Luxembourg citizens who performed outstanding civil and military services, as well for distinguished artists who made outstanding achievements. |
| Status | Currently constituted |
| Sovereign | His Royal Highness Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg |
| Chancellor | Jean-Claude Juncker |
| Grades (w/ post-nominals) | Grand Cross, Grand Officer, Commander, Officer, Knight |
| Former grades | Knight Grand Cross, Knight of the Star, Knight Commander, Knight |
| Established | 29 December 1841 |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | Order of Adolphe of Nassau |
| Next (lower) | Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg |
| Ribbon bar of the order | |
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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The Order of the Oak Crown was instituted by the Grand Duke-King William II, in 1841. At that time, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Kingdom of the Netherlands were in personal union; although the Order was technically a Luxembourgian award, it was often used by William II and his successor, Grand Duke-King 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 a German relative of the queen, Adolphe, Duke of Nassau, who subsequenly became the next grand duke. The Order of the Oak Crown remained a Luxembourgian award; the Netherlands established the Order of Orange-Nassau 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 or notable foreigners of Luxembourger descent.
The Grand Duke of Luxembourg is the Grand Master of the Order.
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). 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 because 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.
Nowadays the Order consists of five grades:
plus gilt, silver and bronze medals, who wear the medal on a chest ribbon on the left chest.
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