Order of Saints Olga and Sophia

Order of Saints Olga and Sophia
The Royal Family Order of Saints Olga and Sophia was an order of the Greek royal family. Reserved for women, it was the third highest honour of the modern Greek state and the Crown after the Order of the Redeemer and the male-only Order of Saints George and Constantine. It was instituted in January 1936, by King George II in the memory of his grandmother (Queen Olga) and his mother (Queen Sophia).
The order was abolished in 1973, by the Greek state and today is awarded only by the head of the former Greek royal family.
Grades
Dame Grand Cross
Dame Commander
Commander
Gold Cross
Silver Cross
Grand Mistresses
1936 – 1947: Queen Helen, The Queen Mother of Romania (née Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark)
1947 – 1964: Queen Frederica (née Princess Frederica of Hanover)
1964 – 2023: Queen Anne-Marie (née Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark)
2023 – present: Crown Princess Marie-Chantal (née Marie-Chantal Miller)
Recipients
Upon the creation of the Order in January 1936, Greek Princesses and their daughters were invested in order of precedence:
The Queen Mother of Romania (née Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark) – Grand Mistress (1936–1947)
Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna of Russia (née Princess Maria of Greece and Denmark) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
Princess Alexander of Greece and Denmark (née Aspasia Manos) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
Princess Eugénie of Greece and Denmark – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
Princess Paul of Yugoslavia (née Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
Princess Elizabeth, Countess of Törring-Jettenbach (née Princess Elizabeth of Greece and Denmark) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
The Duchess of Kent (née Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
Princess Paul Aleksandrovich Chavchavadze (née Princess Nina Georgievna of Russia) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
Princess Xenia Georgievna of Russia – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
The Hereditary Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (née Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
The Margravine of Baden (née Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
The Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine (née Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark - Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
Princess George of Greece and Denmark (née Princess Marie Bonaparte) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
Princess Nicholas of Greece and Denmark (née Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark (née Princess Alice of Battenberg) - Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
Princess Christopher of Greece and Denmark (née Princess Françoise of Orléans) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
The Landgravine of Hesse (née Princess Margaret of Prussia) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
Other dames
Queen Frederica (née Princess Frederica of Hanover) – Grand Mistress (1947–1964)
The Duchess of Brunswick (née Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
Queen Anne of Romania (née Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
Queen Mary of United Kingdom (née Princess Mary of Teck) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom (née Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain (née Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
The Countess of Barcelona (née Princess María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
Queen Ingrid of Denmark (née Princess Ingrid of Sweden) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
Queen Marie-José of Italy (née Princess Marie José of Belgium) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg (née Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
Princess René of Bourbon-Parma (née Princess Margaret of Denmark) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
Princess Georgina of Liechtenstein (née Countess Georgina of Wilczek) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
The Duchess of Badajoz (née Infanta Pilar of Spain) – Dame Grand Cross
Current dames
Queen Anne-Marie (née Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark) - Grand Mistress (1964–2023)
Queen Sofía of Spain (née Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark - Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
The Queen of Denmark – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
Princess Tatiana Radziwiłł - Dame Grand Cross
The Dowager Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (née Princess Benedikte of Denmark) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
The Custodian of the Crown of Romania – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
The Duchess of Soria (née Infanta Margarita of Spain) – Dame Grand Cross
Princess Alexia, Mrs Carlos Morales (née Princess Alexía of Greece and Denmark) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
Crown Princess Pavlos of Greece (née Marie-Chantal Miller) – Grand Mistress (2023–present)
Princess Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark (née Tatiana Blatnik) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
Princess Philippos of Greece and Denmark (née Nina Nastassja Flohr) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
References
External links
The Greek Royal Orders
The depicted picture is from the book: "Hellenic Orders, Decorations and Medals", Athens 1991, by George J. Beldecos © Hellenic War Museum
Saints Olga and Sophia
Saints Olga and Sophia, Order of
Awards established in 1936
1936 establishments in Greece
Saints Olga and Sophia