Royal Order of Francis I

Royal Order of Francis I
The Royal Order of Francis I (properly 'The Royal Order of Francis I of the Two Sicilies' ) was an extinct order of merit of the former Kingdom of the Two Sicilies which was annexed in 1861 by the King of Italy (until 1860 King of Piedmonte and Sardinia). It has been revived by Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro, as an award for services to charity and inter-religious understanding and includes a number of non Roman Catholic statesmen and stateswomen among its membership.
History
The Royal Order of Francis I was founded on 28 September 1829 as an award of civil merit in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies for distinction in public service, science, the arts, agriculture, industry and commerce.
Although the order was a State Order and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ceased to exist in 1860, the Order continued to be awarded by the exiled King Francis II and his brother and successor Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta, although the latter did so for the last time in 1920, since they were still claiming all the prerogatives of the crown. His successor as head of the Dynasty, Prince Ferdinand Pius, Duke of Calabria who was head of the family from 1934-1960 accepted the de facto existence of the Italian State and abandoned an active pretension to the throne, considering the order to be abeyance. The latter's nephew, Infante Alfonso, Duke of Calabria, and great-nephew Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria continued this policy, as has the latter's son and heir.
Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro, much like his father, Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Castro, head of the line of the family descended from Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro has claimed the title and right of Grand Master and bestowed the order.
Notable recipients
Dames Grand Cross
Princess Benedikte of Denmark
Princess Elena of Romania (29 July 2012)
Sinaitakala Fakafanua
Princess Katarina of Yugoslavia
Archduchess Maria Isabella of Austria
Margaret Thatcher (14 November 2003)
Knights Grand Cross
Gavyn Farr Arthur
Nadhmi Auchi
Zaki Badawi
Anthony Bailey (PR advisor)
Abdul Qadir Bajamal
Robert Balchin, Baron Lingfield (2014)
Frederick Ballantyne
Princess Benedikte of Denmark
Gaston Browne
George Carey (2009)
Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro
Alfonso de Ceballos-Escalera y Gila, Marqués de la Floresta
Andrzej Ciechanowiecki
Rachida Dati
Mor Athanasius Touma Dawod
Ermias Sahle Selassie
Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies
Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Castro
Giustino Fortunato (1777–1862)
Giovanna of Italy
Gregorios Theocharous
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim
Lodewijk van Heiden
Atifete Jahjaga
Marcellin Jobard
Mahmoud Khayami
Leka, Crown Prince of Albania (born 1982)
Gilbert Monckton, 2nd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley
Nicholas, Crown Prince of Montenegro
Ali Abdullah Saleh
Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud
Sigmund Sternberg
Tom Thabane
Edward Thomason
George Tupou V
Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala
Desmond Tutu
Filip Vujanović
Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster (2006)
Duke William of Württemberg
Rodney Williams (governor-general) (November 2014)
Rowan Williams (2004)
Dames Commander
Knights Commander
John Alderdice, Baron Alderdice
Daniel Brennan, Baron Brennan
John Burland
Robert Murel Clark, Jr.
Joseph MacNeal Crews
Charles Denman, 5th Baron Denman
Matthew D. Dupee
David Durie
Bandar bin Khalid Al Faisal
Robert Todd Giffin
Konstantin of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst
Nasser Khalili
Sione Ngongo Kioa
Norman Lamont
Mothetjoa Metsing
Abu Bakr al-Qirbi
Desmond de Silva (barrister)
D. Brenton Simons
Michael Smurfit
Conrad Swan
Emidio Taliani
Washington Carroll Tevis
Knights or Dames
Richard L. Cosnotti
Unknown Classes
Gaspare Spontini
Vincenzo Tineo
Grades
The Order is now divided into three grades (the modern revival has allowed the award to women):
Knight Grand Cross with sash ribbon and star
Dame Grand Cross, with ribbon with bow edged in gold and covered with fleurs-de-lis
Knight Commander, with cross on neck ribbon
Dame Commander with ribbon with bow edged in gold and cross;
Knight First Class, with ribbon and cross;
Dame First Class with ribbon with bow and cross.
See also
Order of Saint Januarius
Order of Saint George and Reunion
Order of Saint Ferdinand and of Merit
Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George
1829 establishments in Italy
Awards established in 1829