Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau

Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau
The Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau is a chivalric order shared by the two branches of the House of Nassau (the Ottonian and Walramian lines).
In the context of the elder Walramian line, this order is the highest Luxembourgian national order and is bestowed by the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. It may be awarded to sovereigns, princes of sovereign houses and heads of state for meritorious service to Luxembourg and the Grand Duke.
In the context of the younger Ottonian line, this order is a house order (dynastic order) of the Dutch Royal House of Orange-Nassau and is awarded as a personal gift by the King of the Netherlands. In this case, the honour is conferred on a person who has rendered special service to the Royal House.
History
1858–1892
The order was founded with royal grand-ducal decree on 31 March 1858 by King-Grand Duke William III. The sovereignty of the order was to be shared between both branches of the House of Nassau, by virtue of an agreement between William III, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Adolphe, Duke of Nassau and future Grand Duke of Luxembourg. The order originally included only one grade (i.e. Knight), but was increased to four by William III in 1873:
Grand Cross
Grand Officer
Officer
Knight
The further rank of Commander (in between Grand Officer and Officer) was introduced in 1882.
None of the changes made by William III were confirmed by Adolphe, with whom the order was supposed to be shared, and Adolphe refused to award any of the new grades. When William III died without a male heir, the grand duchy of Luxembourg passed to Adolphe, as dictated by the Nassau Family Pact.
1892–present
Two years later, in 1892, Adolphe abolished the grades that William III had created unilaterally and, to this day, the order has maintained just one grade, i.e. that of Knight. In 1905, Adolphe agreed with Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands to once again share sovereignty of the order between both ruling branches of the House of Nassau.
At the present time, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg are joint Grand Masters of the Order of the Gold Lion of Nassau.
The order is conferred only on rare occasions in the Netherlands or Luxembourg. For example, the former Dutch Foreign Secretaries Max van der Stoel and Pieter Kooijmans were made knights of this order by the Queen of the Netherlands. In 1999, the two Grand Masters made the South African President Nelson Mandela a knight during his state visit to the Netherlands (see Nelson Mandela awards).
Insignia
A knight wears the order's badge on a sash on the right shoulder, and the plaque (breast star) of the order on the left chest.
The badge of the order is a white-enamelled golden Maltese Cross, with the golden monogram "N" between the arms of the cross. The obverse central disc is in blue enamel, bearing the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau. The reverse central disc is also blue enamelled, with the motto Je maintiendrai ("I will maintain") in gold.
The plaque is an 8-pointed star with straight silver rays; the same obverse of the badge of the order appears at its centre, surrounded by the motto Je maintiendrai in gold letters on white enamel.
The ribbon of the sash of the order is yellow-orange moiré with a small blue stripe at each edge.
Award criteria
"Honorary distinctions of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg":
The Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau can be conferred on sovereigns and on princes of sovereign houses and, nowadays, also on heads of state, for meritorious service to the Grand Duke and country. The bestowal of the insignia is carried out by the Grand Duke or his specially appointed official representative. The brevet is awarded in agreement with the head of the Ottonian branch of the House of Nassau (The Netherlands).
Princes and Princesses of the House of Nassau
Princes who are sons or brothers of the heads of the two lines of the House of Nassau are born knights of the order. In 1984, Queen Beatrix and Grand Duke Jean made an agreement that princesses (daughters of the heads of the two lines of the House of Nassau) may be admitted when they reach the age of majority (18).
On 16 February 2009, Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg received the order on her 18th birthday. Now that King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands is the head of the Dutch branch, his daughter Princess Ariane of the Netherlands is entitled to receive the order on her 18th birthday. His eldest daughter, Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange received the order upon her 18th birthday on 17 December 2021. Followed by his middle daughter Princess Alexia of the Netherlands on her 18th birthday on 26 June 2023.
Recipients
Grand Masters
Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (Current)
Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands (Current)
William III of the Netherlands (Founder)
Grand Crosses
Charles Augustus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1844–1894)
Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Walthère Frère-Orban
Knights
Akihito
Albert I of Belgium
Albert II of Belgium
Albert of Saxony
Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander of Battenberg
Princess Alexia of the Netherlands
Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine
Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg
Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Prince Arnulf of Bavaria
Prince August, Duke of Dalarna
Prince August of Württemberg
Baudouin of Belgium
Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld
Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1792–1862)
Bhumibol Adulyadej
Birendra of Nepal
Carl XVI Gustaf
Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland
Carol I of Romania
Aníbal Cavaco Silva
Charles XV
Prince Charles, Count of Flanders
Prince Charles of Luxembourg (born 2020)
Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
Christian IX of Denmark
Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands
Constantine II of Greece
Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld
Edward VII
Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Belgium
Elizabeth II of Great Britain
Prince Ernest Augustus, 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale
Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg
Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke
Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma
Prince Félix of Luxembourg
Heinz Fischer
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Frederick VIII of Denmark
Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt
Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden
Frederick III, German Emperor
Prince Frederick of Württemberg
Frederick William IV of Prussia
Frederick William, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen
Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau
Prince George, Duke of Cambridge
George, King of Saxony
George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont
Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg
Abdullah Gül
Haile Selassie
Tarja Halonen
Harald V of Norway
Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark
Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Prince Hermann of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1825–1901)
Prince Jean of Luxembourg
Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Prince Johann of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
John of Saxony
Archduke Joseph Karl of Austria
Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium
Juliana of the Netherlands
Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria
Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria
Konstantin of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst
Pieter Kooijmans
Leopold III of Belgium
Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt
Leopold III, Prince of Lippe
Prince Leopold of Bavaria
Walter von Loë
Émile Loubet
Louis III, Grand Duke of Hesse
Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse
Prince Louis of Luxembourg
Archduke Ludwig Viktor of Austria
Margrethe II of Denmark
Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
Infanta Marie Anne of Portugal
Queen Máxima of the Netherlands
Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia
Empress Michiko
Napoleon III
Prince Nikolaus Wilhelm of Nassau
Olav V of Norway
Oscar I of Sweden
Oscar II
Otto von Habsburg
Queen Paola of Belgium
Duke Peter of Oldenburg
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Philippe of Belgium
Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders
Prince Frederick William of Hesse-Kassel
Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria
Rainier III, Prince of Monaco
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
Jan Jacob Rochussen
Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria
Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria
Prince William of Schaumburg-Lippe
Walter Scheel
Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg
Queen Silvia of Sweden
Queen Sofía of Spain
Queen Sonja of Norway
Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange
Konstantinos Stephanopoulos
Archduke Stephen of Austria (Palatine of Hungary)
Max van der Stoel
Princess Tenagnework
Josip Broz Tito
Prince Valdemar of Denmark
Karl von Wedel
Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
William I, German Emperor
William II of Württemberg
William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Prince William of Baden (1829–1897)
William, Duke of Brunswick
William, Prince of Wied
Zog I of Albania
References
Legislative texts (French and German):
Constitution, Art. 41. "The Grand-Duke awards the civil and military orders, while observing about this what the law provides."
Constitution, Art. 45. "The dispositions taken by the Grand-Duc must be counter-signed by a responsible member of the Government."
Mémorial A n° 48 of 27.11.1857, Ordonnance royale grand-ducale du 25 novembre 1857 concernant les ordres civils et militaires (General provision about orders in Luxembourg)
Mémorial A n° 13 of 05.05.1858, Arrêté royal grand-ducal du 31 mars 1858 concernant l'institution d'un Ordre commun aux deux branches de la Maison de Nassau, sous le nom de: «Ordre du Lion d'or de la Maison de Nassau» (Foundation of the Order)
Mémorial A n° 10 of 28.03.1873, Arrêté royal grand-ducal du 13 mars 1873 concernant l'ordre du Lion d'or de la Maison de Nassau (Creation of new classes in 1873)
Mémorial A n° 24 du 07.04.1882, Arrêté royal grand-ducal du 29 mars 1882 portant modification des statuts de l'Ordre du Lion d'or de la Maison de Nassau (Modification of statutes )
Mémorial A n° 10 of 05.03.1892, Arrêté grand-ducal du 22 février 1892 modifiant les statuts de l'ordre du Lion d'or de la Maison de Nassau (Statutes)
Mémorial A n° 48 of 07.09.1905 Arrêté grand-ducal du 27 août 1905 concernant l'Ordre du Lion d'Or de la Maison de Nassau
External links
1858 establishments in the Netherlands
Awards established in 1858
Orders, decorations, and medals of the German Empire
Orders of chivalry of Luxembourg