Orders of knighthood for women

Ladies Orders or Orders of knighthood for women are Chivalric orders reserved solely for women. These knighthoods for women made their first appearance in 1600, and have been much less numerous than traditional knighthood reserved for men.[1]

Though many kingdoms, such as Great Britain or the Netherlands, allow both men and women to be invested with the same orders of knighthood, orders in other kingdoms were exclusive for men. Several of these kingdoms eventually established orders for the exclusive membership of women. Tradition frequently called upon the reigning queen or empress, queen or empress consort to serve as the Grand Mistress of their respective all-female, royal or imperial orders. In other cases, the king or emperor is the sole male member of the order, acting in his role as the sovereign or master of all orders established and conferred within his kingdom or empire. A large number of female orders existed in the various German kingdoms, Austria, and in Russia.

List of Ladies orders

The following list of orders that were established for the sole or primary membership of women:

Austria

Egypt

France

Germany

Bavaria
Prussia
Saxony
Württemberg

Greece

Japan

Persia

Portugal

Philippines

Russia

Spain

United Kingdom

References

  1. Hieronymussen, Paul (1967). Orders and Decorations of Europe in Color. New York: Macmillan Company. p. 15.
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