# List of recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion

Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion and, until 1830, its counterpart the Order of the Lion Belgium.
The Order of the Netherlands Lion is a high order of chivalry of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Order of the Netherlands Lion was until recently awarded upon eminent individuals from all walks of life, including generals, ministers of the crown, mayors of large towns, professors and leading scientists, industrialists, high ranking civil servants, presiding judges and renowned artists. Since 1980 the Order has been primarily used to recognise merit in the arts, science, sport and literature. The following are recipients within the award.

## Knight Grand Cross
### Royalty

(List incomplete)
| Military Rank | Name | Date | Royal function(s)/Political offices(s) | Military offices(s) | Comments |
| Admiral of the Fleet | Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | 1865 | | Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth (1890–1893) Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet (1886–1889) Commander-in-Chief, Channel Fleet (1883–1884) | |
| Pasha | Khedive Isma'il of Egypt | 1866 | Khedive of Egypt and Sudan (1863–1879) | | |
| Field marshal | Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn | 23 August 1878 | Governor General of Canada (1911–1916) | | |
| Pasha | Khedive Abbas II of Egypt | 1892 | Khedive of Egypt and Sudan (1892–1914) | | |
| Lieutenant general | Prince Henry, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin | 7 February 1901 | Prince consort of the Netherlands (1901–1934) | | |
| | King Fuad I of Egypt | 1925 | King of Egypt (1922–1936) Sultan of Egypt (1917–1922) | | |
| | Queen Juliana of the Netherlands | 30 April 1927 | Queen of the Netherlands (1948–1980) | | Former Grand Master (04/09/1948–30/04/1980) |
| General | Tisavarakumarn, the Prince Damrong Rajanubhab | 8 August 1930 | Prince of Thailand (1862–1943) | Commanders-in-chief of the Royal Siamese Army (1887–1890) |
| | Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia | 7 October 1930 | Emperor of Ethiopia (1930–1974) | | |
| General Lieutenant admiral | Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld | 7 January 1937 | Prince consort of the Netherlands (1948–1980) | Inspector General of the Armed forces of the Netherlands (1970–1976) Inspector General of the Royal Netherlands Air Force (1953–1970) Inspector General of the Royal Netherlands Navy (1946–1970) Inspector General of the Royal Netherlands Army (1945–1970) Commander-in-chief of the Armed forces of the Netherlands (1944–1945) | Husband of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands |
| Admiral of the Fleet | Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma | 1948 | Governor-General of India (1947–1948) Viceroy of India (1947) | Chief of the Defence Staff (1959–1965) Chairman of the NATO Military Committee (1960–1961) First Sea Lord (1955–1959) Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet (1952–1954) Fourth Sea Lord (1950–1952) | |
| | Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother | 1950 | Queen consort of the United Kingdom (1936–1952) Empress consort of India (1936–1947) | | Wife of King George VI of the United Kingdom |
| | Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom | 1950 | Queen of the United Kingdom (1952–2022) | | |
| | Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands | 31 January 1956 | Queen of the Netherlands (1980–2013) | | Former Grand Master (30/04/1980–30/04/2013) |
| | Princess Irene of the Netherlands | 5 August 1957 | | | |
| Field marshal Admiral of the Fleet | Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh | 26 March 1958 | Consort of the United Kingdom (1952-2021) | Lord High Admiral (2011-2021) Air commodore-in-chief of the Air Training Corps (1953–2015) | Husband of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, died 9 April 2021 |
| | Prince Claus of the Netherlands | 10 March 1966 | Prince consort of the Netherlands (1980–2002) | | Husband of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands |
| Field marshal Admiral of the fleet Marshal of the air force | King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand | 12 May 1960 | King of Thailand (1946–2016) | Head of the Royal Thai Armed Forces (1946–2016) | |
| Field marshal Admiral of the fleet Marshal of the air force | Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother | 12 May 1960 | Queen consort of Thailand (1950–2016) | Special commander of the 21st Infantry Regiment, Queen's Guard (since 1959) | Wife of King Rama IX of Thailand |
| | Princess Margriet of the Netherlands | 19 January 1961 | | | |
| | King Hussein of Jordan | 1964 | King of Jordan (1952–1999) | | |
| | Princess Christina of the Netherlands | 18 February 1965 | | | |
| Brigadier general Commodore | King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands | 27 April 1985 | King of the Netherlands (since 2013) | | Grand Master (30/04/2013) |
| | Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau | 25 September 1986 | | | |
| | Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands | 11 October 1987 | | | |
| | Emperor Akihito of Japan | 22 October 1991 | Emperor Emeritus of Japan (1989-2019) | | |
| | Empress Michiko of Japan | 22 October 1991 | Empress consort Emerita of Japan (1989-2019) | | Wife of Emperor Akihito of Japan |
| | Queen Máxima of the Netherlands | 2 February 2002 | Queen consort of the Netherlands (since 2013) | | Wife of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands |
| Captain | Pieter van Vollenhoven | 29 April 2004 | | | Husband of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands |
| | King Albert II of Belgium | 20 June 2006 | King of the Belgians (1993–2013) | | |
| | Queen Paola of Belgium | 20 June 2006 | Queen consort of the Belgians (1993–2013) | | Wife of King Albert II of Belgium |
| | Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar | 9 March 2011 | Emir of Qatar (1995–2013) Prime Minister of Qatar (1995–1996) | | |
| | Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange | 7 December 2021 | Princess of Orange (since 2023) | | |
| | Princess Alexia of the Netherlands | 26 June 2023 | | | |
| | King Baudouin of Belgium | Unknown | King of the Belgians (1951–1993) | | |
| Major | Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale | Unknown | | | |
| | King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden | Unknown | King of Sweden (1950–1973) | | |
| | King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden | Unknown | King of Sweden (since 1973) | | |
| | King George V of the United Kingdom | Unknown | King of the United Kingdom (1936–1952) Emperor of India (1936–1947) | | |
| | King Haakon VII of Norway | Unknown | King of Norway (1905−1957) | | |
| | King Harald V of Norway | Unknown | King of Norway (since 1991) | | |
| Grand admiral | Prince Henry of Prussia | Unknown | | Commander-in-Chief of High Seas Fleet of the Imperial German Navy (1907−1909) | |
| | Queen Margrethe II of Denmark | Unknown | Queen of Denmark (since 1972) | | |
| | Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark | Unknown | Prince consort of Denmark (since 1972) | | Husband of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark |
| | Queen Ingrid of Sweden | Unknown | Queen consort of Denmark (1947–1972) | | Wife of King Frederick IX of Denmark |

### Politics and Military

(List incomplete)
| Military Rank | Name | Date | Political offices(s) | Military offices(s) | Comments |
| General | Godert van der Capellen | 14 February 1821 | Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (1816–1826) | Commander-in-chief of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (1819) | Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Commander (17/11/1817) |
| | Jan Jacob Rochussen | 10 October 1841 | Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1858–1860) Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (1845–1851) | | Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Commander (28/11/1840) Elevated to Commander from Knight (04/07/1829) |
| | Floris Adriaan van Hall | 2 April 1844 | Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1853–1856, 1860–1861) | | |
| | Schelto van Heemstra | 18 August 1860 | Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1861–1862) | | |
| | Johan Rudolph Thorbecke | 7 June 1863 | Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1849–1853, 1862–1866, 1871–1872) | | Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Commander (14/01/1851) |
| | Jan Heemskerk | 1 May 1878 | Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1874–1877, 1883–1888) | | Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Commander (25/09/1867) |
| | Aeneas Mackay | 27 May 1905 | Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1888–1891) Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands (1884–1885, 1901–1905) | | Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Commander (17/02/1890) |
| General | Porfirio Díaz | 1908 | President of Mexico (1876, 1877–1880, 1884–1911) | | |
| | Pieter Cort van der Linden | 10 May 1926 | Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1913–1918) | | Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Commander (1901) |
| | Dirk Fock | 7 September 1926 | Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (1921–1926) Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands (1917–1920) Governor of Suriname (1908–1911) | | Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Commander (10/10/1920) |
| | Tomáš Masaryk | 1929 | President of Czechoslovakia (1918–1935) | | |
| Major | Hendrikus Colijn | 6 January 1937 | Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1925–1926, 1933–1939) | | Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Commander (30/08/1926) |
| | Willem Lodewijk de Vos van Steenwijk | 30 August 1938 | President of the Senate of the Netherlands (1929–1946) | | Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Commander (30/08/1933) |
| General of the Army | Dwight D. Eisenhower | 6 October 1945 | President of the United States (1953–1961) | Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1951–1952) Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1945–1948) | |
| General | Henri Winkelman | 14 April 1946 | | Commander-in-chief of the Armed forces of the Netherlands (1940) | |
| Captain | Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy | 6 May 1946 | Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1940–1945) | | Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Knight (28/08/1930) |
| Lieutenant colonel | Sir Winston Churchill | 1946 | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1940–1945, 1951–1955) | | |
| Field marshal | Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein | 16 January 1947 | | Chief of the Imperial General Staff (1946–1948) | |
| | Roelof Kranenburg | 4 September 1948 | President of the Senate of the Netherlands (1946–1951) | | Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Knight (30/08/1939) |
| | Willem Drees | 22 December 1958 | Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1948–1958) | | |
| | Konrad Adenauer | 1960 | Chancellor of Germany (1949–1963) | | |
| | Walter Hallstein | 1968 | President of the European Commission (1958–1967) | | |
| Marshal | Josip Broz Tito | 20 October 1970 | President of Yugoslavia (1953–1980) Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (1944–1963) | | |
| | Louis Beel | 28 June 1972 | Vice President of the Council of State of the Netherlands (1959–1972) Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1946–1948, 1958–1959) | | |
| | Sicco Mansholt | 18 December 1972 | President of the European Commission (1972–1973) European Commissioner for Agriculture (1958–1972) | | Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Commander (7 January 1958) |
| Lieutenant | Jelle Zijlstra | 18 November 1981 | Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1966–1967) | | Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Commander (27 July 1963) |
| | Richard von Weizsäcker | 1987 | President of Germany (1984–1994) | | |
| Second lieutenant | Ruud Lubbers | 8 October 1994 | United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (2001–2005) Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1982–1994) | | Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Knight (11/04/1978) |
| | Kofi Annan | 2006 | Secretary-General of the United Nations (1997–2006) | | |
| | Ivan Gašparovič | 21 May 2007 | President of Slovakia (1998, 2004–2014) Speaker of the National Council of Slovakia (1992–1998) | | |
| | Valdas Adamkus | 2008 | President of Lithuania (1998–2003, 2004–2009) | | |
| | Toomas Hendrik Ilves | 2008 | President of Estonia (2006–2016) | | |
| | Lech Wałęsa | 2008 | President of Poland (1990–1995) | | |
| | Abdullah Gül | 17 April 2012 | President of Turkey (2007–2014) Prime Minister of Turkey (2002–2003) | | |
| | Giorgio Napolitano | 23 October 2012 | President of Italy (2006–2015) President of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy (1992–1994) | | |
| | François Hollande | 20 January 2014 | President of France (2012–2017) | | |
| | Ban Ki-moon | 19 April 2016 | Secretary-General of the United Nations (2007–2016) | | |
| | Joachim Gauck | 7 February 2017 | President of Germany (2012–2017) | | |
| | Mauricio Macri | 26 April 2017 | President of Argentina (2015–2019) | | |
| | Mark Rutte | 2 June 2024 | Prime Minister of the Netherlands (2010–2024) | | |
| Lieutenant admiral | Conrad Helfrich | Unknown | | Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy (1945–1948) Commander of the ABDACOM Naval Forces (1942) | |
| General | Walter Bedell Smith | Unknown | United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1946–1948) | Commander of the First United States Army (1949–1950) | |
| | Helmut Kohl | Unknown | Chancellor of Germany (1982–1998) | | |
| Seaman | Joseph Luns | Unknown | Secretary General of NATO (1971–1984) | | |
| | Cardinal Johannes de Jong | Unknown | Archbishop of Utrecht (1936–1955) | | |
| | Martti Ahtisaari | Unknown | President of Finland (1994–2000) | | |
| Field marshal | Jan Smuts | Unknown | Prime Minister of South Africa (1919–1924, 1939–1948) | | |
| Field marshal | Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke | Unknown | | Chief of the Imperial General Staff (1941–1946) Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces (1940–1941) Commander-in-Chief, Southern Command (1939, 1940) | |
| | Gijsbert Karel van Hogendorp | Unknown | Vice President of the Council of State of the Netherlands (1814–1816) | | |
| | Cardinal Bernardus Johannes Alfrink | Unknown | Archbishop of Utrecht (1955–1975) | | |
| Major-general | Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone | Unknown | Governor General of Canada (1940–1946) Governor-General of the Union of South Africa (1924–1930) | | |
| Admiral of the Fleet | Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhop | Unknown | Lord High Steward (1953) | First Sea Lord (1943–1946) | |
| | Charles de Broqueville | Unknown | Prime Minister of Belgium (1911–1918, 1932–1934) | | |

## Commander

(List incomplete)
| Military Rank | Name | Date | Royal function(s)/Political offices(s) | Military offices(s) | Comments |
| | Jan Willem Louis van Oordt | 1875 | Tutor to William III in shipbuilding | Chief Engineer of the Royal Netherlands Navy |
| Vice-admiral | Frederik Alexander Adolf Gregory | Unknown | | | |
| General | Godfried van Voorst tot Voorst | Unknown | | Second highest officer in command of the Dutch armed forces during World War II | Commander |

## Knight

(List incomplete)
| Military Rank | Name | Date | Royal function(s)/Political offices(s) | Military offices(s) | Comments |
| | Edward Bok | 1924 | Philanthropist, publisher, editor of Ladies' Home Journal, Pulitzer Prize winning author | | Knight |
| Vice admiral | Jean Jacques Rambonnet | 1924 | Politician, Minister of the Navy, acting Minister of the Colonies, acting Minister of War, Chief Scout of the Netherlands | Naval officer | Knight |
| | Hok Hoei Kan | 1930 | Politician and community leader of the Dutch East Indies, member of the Volksraad | | Knight |
| Lieutenant admiral | Johan Furstner | | Politician, Minister of the Navy | Naval officer, Chief of the Naval Staff, Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces | Knight |
| | Jacobus Thomas (Tom) de Smidt | 1985 | Academic in the field of Legal history | | Knight |
| | Dick Swaab | 1998 | Neurobiologist and founder of the Netherlands Brain Bank | | Knight |
| | André Rieu | 2002 | Violinist and conductor of the Johann Strauss Orchestra | | Knight |
| | Børge Ring | 2003 | Animated short film writer, director and animator | | Knight |
| | Hans van Houwelingen | 2008 | Academic, mathematician in the field of medical statistics, biostatistics | | Knight |
| | Willem de Vos | 2017 | Academic, microbiologist | | Knight |