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Provisional List of Orders

which have been scrutinised by the Commission and pronounced to be found valid, according to the principles developed in the Edinburgh report. The appended list does not include the names of Orders of reigning Royal Houses (1963).

 

Note:

In all cases where there has been any uncertainty in connection with Dynastic Orders, we have applied for information to the Chanceries or Secretariats of the Sovereign Houses concerned, and we have, as a matter of course, endorsed their point of view as to the Orders belonging to or under the protection of such Houses. Although some of these Orders are not being granted at present and could therefore be listed as “dormant,” they are still jure sanguinis in the gift of their Sovereign Heads, who can at any time exercise their rights which have not been renounced.

 

 

A. INDEPENDENT ORDERS

 

1. The Sovereign Military Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, called of Rhodes, called of Malta

 

B. SEMI-INDEPENDENT ORDERS

 

1. Alcantara [1] (formerly San Julian del Pereiro incorporated with Alcantara 1222)

2. Calatrava [3]

3. Santiago [5]

4. The Teutonic Order of Saint Mary of Jerusalem [7]

5. The Bailiwick of Utrecht of the Teutonic Order in the Netherlands

6. Montesa [9] (united in 1400 with Saint George d’Alfamo founded 1201)

7. Bailiwick of Brandenburg of the Knightly Order of Saint John in Prussia [11]

8. The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem [12]

9. The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem

10. The Knightly Order of Saint John in the Netherlands [13]

11. The Knightly Order of Saint John in Sweden [14]

 

C. DYNASTIC ORDERS

 

1. AUSTRIA

House of Habsburg-Lorraine (Lothringen) [15] (Catholic)

2 . BRAZIL

House of Orléans-Bragança [16] (Catholic)

3. BULGARIA

House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Orthodox)

4. FRANCE

House of Bourbon [17] (Catholic)

5. GERMANY

Anhalt

House of Ascania (Evangelical)

Baden

House of Zähringen (Evangelical)

Bavaria

House of Wittelsbach (Catholic)

Brunswick

Brunswick-Lüneburg (House of Hanover) (Evangelical).

Hanover

House of Guelph (Evangelical)

Hesse

House of Lorraine-Brabant (Reformed)

Lippe

House of Lippe (Reformed)

Mecklenburg (Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz)

House of Mecklenburg (Lutheran)

Oldenburg

House of Oldenburg (Lutheran)

Prussia

House of Hohenzollern (Evangelical)

Hohenzollern

House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (Catholic)

Reuss

House of Reuss (Lutheran)

Saxony

Kingdom of Saxony

House of Wettin (Albertine Line) (Catholic)

Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Lutheran)

Saxon Duchies

House of Wettin (Ernestine Line: (1) Saxe-Meiningen, (2) Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and (3) Saxe-Altenburg) (Lutheran)

Schaumburg-Lippe

House of Lippe (Reformed)

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Sondershausen (Lutheran)

House of Schwarzburg

Waldeck

House of Waldeck (Evangelical)

Württemberg

House of Württemberg (Catholic)

6 . ITALY

Kingdom of Italy

House of Savoy (Catholic)

Tuscany

House of Habsburg-Lorraine (Catholic)

Two Sicilies

House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies [32] (Catholic)

7. JUGOSLAVIA/SERBIA

House Karadjordjevic (Orthodox)

8. MONTENEGRO

House of Petrovic-Njegos (Orthodox)

9. PORTUGAL

House of Bragança (Catholic)

10. RUMANIA

House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (Rumanian Orthodox)

11 . RUSSIA

House of Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp (Orthodox)

 

1. Hohenlohe

House of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingfurst

2. Isenburg

House of Isenburg-Birstein

3. Thurn and Taxis

House of Thurn and Taxis

1. Hungary

EDITORIAL NOTES

[1] Today the Order is obliged to be inscribed in the General Register of Associations under the laws of the Kingdom of Spain.

[2] Under Charles V, Adrian VI annexed to the Crown of Spain the three great military Orders (Alcántara, Calatrava, and Santiago) with hereditary transmission even in the female line (1522). Thenceforth the three Orders were united under one government, though their titles and possessions remained separate. To discharge the detail of this administration, Charles V instituted a special ministry, the Council of Orders, composed of a president named by the king, whom he represented, and six knights, two delegates from each Order. To this council belonged the presentation of knights to vacant commanderies and jurisdiction in all matters, civil or ecclesiastical, save the purely spiritual cases reserved for ecclesiastical dignitaries. In 1587 Montesa was also united to the crown.

[3] See note number 28.

[4] See note number 29.

[5] See note number 28.

[6] See note number 29.

[7] Usually Ordo Fratrum Domus Hospitalis Sanctae Mariae Teutonicorum in Jerusalem.

[8] By the merchants of the Hanseatic League of Bremen and Lübeck to provide hospital services for the pilgrims and the crusaders who fell ill. The Statute was recognized by Pope Celestine III in 1196. Abolished by Napoleon I in 1809, it was re-established by Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria in 1834. In 1929 it renounced its status as an order of chivalry and became a religious one.

[9] See note number 28.

[10] See note number 29.

[11] Grand Bailiwick of Brandenburg of the Order of the Knights of St. John of the Hospital of Jerusalem. An autonomous Protestant Order, originally established in the German states in 1332. Also known as the Johanniterorden or Evangelical Order of St. John. In the 16th century, the Bailiwick of Brandenburg of the Order became Protestant, under the protection of the Margraves of Brandenburg, who were to become kings of Prussia. The Bailiwick continued to maintain friendly relations with the Sovereign Order of Malta and occasionally paid responsia. In 1811 it was suppressed by the king of Prussia who founded the Royal Prussian Order of St. John as an Order of merit the following year. In 1852 that Order was abolished and the Bailiwick of Brandenburg was refounded on the basis of the surviving pre-1811 members. In 1918, after the fall of the monarchy, it was separated from the State and became independent, although it is still recognized and regulated in legislation of the German Federal Republic. It is present in Austria, Canada and the United States and also works in Germany with hospitals and senior nursing homes. It collaborates with the Sovereign Order of Malta in providing an important ambulance service. It has independent affiliations in Finland, France, Hungary and Switzerland.

[12] The Order of St. John settled in the British Isles in the 12th century and, except for a short period during the reign of Queen Mary, it ceased to exist under Henry VIII. The Venerable Order developed after an unsuccessful attempt to restore the Order of St. John in the United Kingdom in 1830. It was only in 1870 that it was established as a humanitarian foundation. In 1888 the Order was recognised by Queen Victoria not as a State Order but as an Order of the Crown. It is very well known today for its ambulance services, active in many countries, for the ophthalmic hospital in Jerusalem and its first-aid and nursing services. The Venerable Order has priories and associations in some 40, mostly English-speaking, countries.

[13] The Order of St. John started to spread across the Netherlands in the 12th century. As the Prussian king suppressed the Bailiwick of Brandenburg in 1811, a number of Dutch members took part in the refoundation of the Bailiwick in 1852. In 1909 a Commandery was created in the Kingdom of Holland. In 1946 the  Commandery separated from the German Order and was annexed to the Dutch Crown, but not as a State Order.

[14] The Order of St. John settled in Scandinavia in the 12th century and remained active until the Reformation, when it was suppressed and its property taken over by the kings of Denmark-Norway and Sweden. The new Swedish Order of St. John was initially organized as a Commandery of the Bailiwick of Brandenburg in 1920 but under the protection of the Swedish Crown. It became independent from the German Order in 1946, with the king of Sweden first as Master and now as Protector. Today this Order provides care for the elderly and the sick and collaborates with Swedish hospitals, with charitable organisations and with Christian communities. It is also involved in international activities in favour of refugees and political prisoners.

[15] Head of the Family is H.I. & R.H. the Archduke Otto of Austria (Otto I, Titular Emperor of Austria) (b. 1912); on 31 May 1961, by written declaration, Archduke Otto renounced his rights to the Austrian throne as well as his membership in the House of Habsburg-Lorraine and declared himself to be a citizen of Austria. This political fiction was done for the benefit of the Austrian republic and to allow Otto to travel to Austria whenever he so wished. This renunciation was viewed as such and understood for what it was by the members of the Imperial Family. (Les Manuscrits du C.E.D.R.E.: L’Empire d’Autriche, volume III, 1991, page 69).

[16] In 1908 H.R.H. Prince Pedro (1875-1940) renounced his rights to the Brazilian throne for himself and for his descendants. This renunciation, if valid, was enacted to make his nephew, H.I. & R.H. Prince Pedro Henrique, Head of the Family upon the death of the Princess Imperial in 1921. Since that time members of the senior branch, descended from H.R.H. Prince Pedro, have disputed the validity of his renunciation. If the renunciation was valid, then the current Head of this Family is H.I. & R.H. Dom Luíz Gastao, Prince of Orleans e Bragança (Luíz I, Titular Emperor of Brazil) (b.1938). If, however, it was not valid, then the Head is H.R.H. Dom Pedro d’Alcantara of Orleans e Bragança (b. 1913).

[17] Claimants: Royal (Legitimist): H.R.H. Mgr. Luís Alfonso de Borbón y Martínez, Duke of Anjou (Louis XX, Titular King of France) (b. 1974); Royal (Orleanist): H.R.H. Mgr. Henri de Orleans, Count of Paris, Duke of France (Henri VII, Titular King of France) (b. 1933).

[18] Its membership was originally formally limited to 100 French gentlemen of noble birth whose paternal ancestors, for at least three generations past, had been received as knights of the Order of St. Michael. Its holders were known as chevaliers des Ordres du Roi. Abolished 1830.

[19] Established in response to the founding of the Burgundian Order of the Golden Fleece. Its holders were known as chevaliers de l’Ordre du Roi. Abolished 1830.

[20] Abolished 1830.

[21] Awarded to members of the Family.

[22] Awarded to members of the Family.

[23] Awarded to members of the Family.

[24] Awarded to members of the Family.

[25] Awarded to members of the Family.

[26] Awarded to members of the Family.

[27] From 18 April 1890 the Order was conferred only by the Lippe line.

[28] H.S.H. Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Lippe (b. 1947) disputes his headship.

[29] New statutes 23 December 1829 and supplements 9 December 1870.

[30] Statutes 14 March 1871.

[31] Awarded to members of the Family.

[32] Claimants: H.R.H. Infante Don Carlos, Duke of Calabria (Carlos, Titular King of the Kingdom of The Two Sicilies) (b. 1938); H.R.H. Don Ferdinando, Duke of Castro (Ferdinando IV, Titular King of the Kingdom of The Two Sicilies) (b. 1926).

[33] H.H. Prince Nicholas Romanovich Romanov, Chairman of the Romanov Family Association (b. 1922) disputes her headship.

[34] See note 60.

[35] See note 60.

[36] Awarded to members of the Family.

[37] Order of Heroes.

[38] H.I. & R.H. Archduke József Árpád of Austria indicated in the manner used by the Order of Vitez.