The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-28
FAMOUS ORDERS OF HBE WORLD
JEwELLED BADGES AND COLLARS
WORN BY SOVEREIGNS.

uoa-BIack Eagle Of Prussis -Prtnc,.
pal Orders OF Germany and Austria.
The robbery OF the famous regalia Of The
Most nlustrious Order Of st. Patrick" from
Dublin Castle has many elements Of surprise
for the general public, says the London
Daily Mail, who nave not the slightest idea
of the immense value Of the badges and COL
lars Of many Of the more famous orders OF
chivslry worn by the King.
The badges Of orders wore originally oH
gold, ensmeiled with designs in what are
known In hsraldry as proper oolors. In
the case, however. OF a sovereign who Is the
bead OF all orders Of his own country badges
and stars were iewelled. Later this fashion
spread to less eminent knights, and not only
the royal family, but many great noblemen
and eminent men are the owners Of splen-
didly iewelled badges. Badges and collars
OF chivalry are, IN the death Of a knight,
given up to the grand master Of the order,
but where the Jewel" Is Of historical inter-
est it is~ returned to thefamily.
Among the decores Of the world King
Edward VII. holds pride Of place and Of
number, for he has nearly a hundred orders
OF chivalry, many of which are exquisite ex-
amples of the goldsmith's and enameller's
arts, while others, being set with the finest
OF matched stones, are Of immense vaip-
When the King is travelling abroad as a
sovereign the necessity OF carrying In his
baggage the orders Of the various countries
through which he will pass forms a consider
able responsibility.
Where the King has arranged 10 meet
representatives OF countries the orders
are duly set out in an apartment adjoining
the reception room, and are changed before
the entrance of the different guests. Eth
quette, however, permits the King TO re-
tain In every instance the great orders OF
his W kingdom. merely adding 20 them
the collar or badge of the foreign order.
At the same time. hen at his W court
the King does not wear any foreign orders,
excepting only on such occasions as state
visits from other sovereigns or from a
special mission sent by an important ruler
whom his Majesty particularly wishes TO
honor.
The most important Of all King Edwards
orders ia that OF the Garter, at once the
most ancient, splendid and enviable decora-
ton. The velvet garter Of full blue velvet,
edged and buckled with gold and bearing
the famous motto. is the badge of the order
which commentaries the quaint old story.
The magnificent star is eight pointed
and is intended to initiate the round
table" of Arthurian times. The Kings
order is set with wonderful b~rilliants
and Ia OF great value.
The Order Of the Thistle, which is two
centuries younger than the Garter. also
furnishes the King with a beautifulabadge
the twelve points of the glory being
thickly iewelled and the figure of st. An
drew in the centre Of the star being
enameIled. The star Of the order Of ST.
Patrick owned by the King Is a blaze OF
diamonds, the cross being in rubies and
the trefoil in emeralds. OF this order the
ruling Viceroy Of iTeland il Grand Master.
under the sovereign
Other British orders are those OF the Bath,
the Star Of India, 81. Michael and st George,
and the Indian Empire; y inc star o. iaas
are extremely beautiful. The former is a
fine cameo carved from onyx with the effigy
OF Queen Victoria, who founded the order:
The latter claims to be the most perfect OF
all the stars Tn -George, as IL 10 gem
orally called, mas fourteen points, and Is
one solid mas Of diamonds. The George
now worn by the King belonged TO the late
Duke of Cambridge, who left IL to his
Majesty. II Is not only q most valuable
jewel, but possesses considerable family
interest.
In direct contrast to these gorgeous
decorations is that Of the principal foreign
~order-namely, that Of Malta, known a.
81. John OF Jerusalem. Though Malta has
long ceased to be a separate State, the
Almanach de Gotha gives this ancient
and Interesting order Of chivalry the rank
OF a sovereign power. The badge Is Q
small Maltese cross Of white enamel, hung
from a narrow black ribbon.
= The famous Golden Fleece ranks next IN
-s-AAs -----l-~- hat Hnr tntrtpGlN
valIe il has to give place to the very mag
niilcsnt badge % the Order Of 81. Andrew,
the leading Russian order, founded by
Peter the Great in 1903. The Kings badge
of this order In wonderfully enamelled IN
81. Andrew crucifed, the rest Of the order,
which is Of considerable size, being set with
very large diamonds OF the first water.
worth many thousands OF pounds. Adouble
headed eagle surmounts the jewel, which
Of the King. Avery beautiful order is that
OF Christ. the chief Portuguese order. the
long cross enamelled in bright red sur
charged with a white cross and edged with
fine pearls being very graceful.
That most exclusive order. the Black
Eagle Of Prussia. is practically confined
in the first class to Princes OF blood royal.
No other orders are allowed to be worn
with IL. unless the knight 10 a foreign Prince
or holds the Order OF st. John. It 10 the
Only OTueT tndb DOWduhyS ooukcot ~ hthBhls
to intimate to the grand master when and
where they intend travelling
The Kaiser regards this order with the
sincerest venerntion. n great ceremonial
attends the annua chapter. which il held
in Berlin every February, King Edwards
badge OF the leading order Of Austria
Hungary IL a beautiful jewel. finely enam-
elled and jewelled. but being only founded
in i7e4 by Maria Theresa 30 commemorate
King Stephen. the first Christian ruler OF
Hungary, il gives place in interest to the
Marianen Cross Of the Teutonic Order, one
OF the oldest religious orders
OF German small and great-the
King has scores. They never see the light
unless q Grand Duke or a Margrave comes
to court. More interesting are the various
Eastern orders. many OF which are more
grotesque than valuable. though his Majesty
H. extremely proud OF his Japanese order
Of the Chrysanthemum. which Is a mar.
vellous piece Of exquisite Japanese ena mel
work. and consists OF one large yellow
bloom set among green leaves and sur
rounded by four smaller flowers. The
Siamese Order OF tho White Elephant is less
peculiar than the Danish Order Of the Ee.
plant, which 10 extraordinarily clumsy and
eccentric.
Tha Kipu In Dro,sd ~ h;s T.cSoc ~ uopor