Dutch Orders and Honours

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2012

There are two categories of Orders in The Netherlands. The National orders are granted based on recommendations from government commissions, while the House orders are solely the personal gift of the Sovereign.

National Orders
The Military Willem Order
The Order of the Netherlands Lion
The Order of Orange-Nassau

House Orders
Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau
Order of the House of Orange
Order for Loyalty and Merit
Order of the Crown

The Military Willem Order

The Military Willem Order (Militaire Willems-Orde) was founded April 30, 1815, by King Willem I, as a way to recognize acts of bravery and courage in military service, with over 1,000 grants of the Order in response to the campaign against Napoleon and the Battle of Waterloo. Originally intended for military personnel only, it was opened to civilians in 1940, and has been granted over 6,000 times in its history. It remains the senior Dutch order of chivalry.

Rarely granted anymore, the order was most recently granted, in 2009, to Marco Kroon. He was created a Knight 4th Class in recognition of bravery shown in action in Afghanistan. This was the first time the order had been granted to an individual in 54 years.

The Order has four classes.

First Cross
Grand Cross – badge worn suspended from a sash over the right shoulder, and star on the left chest.

Second Class
Commander – badge worn on a necklet, plus an identical breast cross on the left chest.

Third Class
Officer – badge on a ribbon, with rosette, on the left chest.

Fourth Class
Knight – badge on a ribbon on the left chest.

The Badge is comprised of a white Maltese Cross bearing the motto of the order – Voor Moed Beleid Trouw (For Bravery Leadership Loyalty). Between the arms of the Maltese Cross are the arms of a green-enameled Burgundy (St Andrew’s) Cross, with a gold firesteel in the center of both crosses. On the reverse is a laurel wreath surrounding the crowned monogram of King William I. Atop the badge is a crown.

The Star of the Order is a silver 8-point star bearing the badge of the Order (without the crown).

The Breast Cross worn by those holding the rank of Commander is identical to the badge.

The Sash is orange with a narrow blue stripe near edge side. This design is used for the ribbons as well.

The Order of the Netherlands Lion

The Order of the Netherlands Lion (De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw) was established in September 1815 as a civilian order to recognize service to the nation. It remains the highest civilian honor, only preceded by the Military Order of Willem. The order is primarily granted for service in the arts, science, sport, and literature, and can be granted to both Dutch citizens and foreigners (First class only).

There are currently three classes to the order.

First Cross
Grand Cross – primarily granted only to members of the Royal Family and foreign Heads of State. The badge is worn suspended from a sash over the right shoulder, with the star worn on the left chest.

Second Class
Commander – badge worn on a necklet, plus an identical breast cross on the left chest.

Third Class
Knight – badge on a ribbon on the left chest.

The Badge is comprised of a white Maltese Cross, with the monogram of King William I between the arms, topped by a crown. In the center is a blue enamel disc bearing the motto of the order – Virtus Nobilitat (Virtue Ennobles). On the reverse is a gold disc bearing the Dutch lion.

The Star of the Order is a gold 8-point star bearing the badge of the Order (without the crown).

The Breast Cross worn by those holding the rank of Commander is identical to the badge.

The Sash is blue with a narrow orange stripe near the edge. This design is used for the ribbons as well.

The Order of Orange-Nassau

The Order of Orange-Nassau (Orde van Oranje-Nassau) was created in April 1892 by Queen Emma, acting as Regent for the young Queen Wilhelmina. After the Netherlands split from Luxembourg upon the death of King Willem III, Queen Emma felt the need for a new Dutch order to recognize foreign diplomats, as well as Dutch citizens, for their service to the nation.

The order originally had 5 classes, as well as honorary medals. In 1996, the order was restructured and the medals were discontinued, but replaced with a 6th class.

First Cross
Grand Cross – badge is worn suspended from a sash over the right shoulder, with an 8-point star worn on the left chest.

Second Class
Grand Officer – badge worn on a necklet (men) or a ribbon tied as a bow on the left chest (women), with a 4-point star worn on the left chest.

Third Class
Commander – badge worn on a necklet (men) or a ribbon tied as a bow on the left chest (women).

Fourth Class
Officer – badge worn on a ribbon, with rosette, on the left chest.

Fifth Class
Knight – badge worn on a ribbon on the left chest.

Sixth Class
Member – a smaller badge is worn on a ribbon on the left chest. (This class replaces the Honorary Medals in Gold, Silver, and Bronze which had been awarded prior to 1996).

The Badge is a blue enameled Maltese Cross (with white-enameled border), suspended from a crown. In the center is a blue enameled disc bearing the Dutch lion in gold. This is surrounded by a white enameled ring with the motto ‘Je Maintiendrai’ (I Shall Maintain) and a laurel wreath. On the back is the crowned monogram of Queen Wilhelmina surrounded by the motto – God Zij Met Ons (God Be With Us). The badge is different for the two divisions – the civil division has a laurel wreath between the arms of the cross, while the military division has two crossed swords.

The Star of the Order is a silver star (8-points for Grand Cross, 4-points for Grand Officer), bearing the same central disc as the badge. For the military division, the disc is backed by two crossed swords.

The Sash is orange with blue edges, separated by a narrow white stripe. This design is used for the ribbons as well.

The Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau

The Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau (Huisorde van de Gouden Leeuw van Nassau) is actually shared by both The Netherlands and Luxembourg, being a House order in The Netherlands, and the highest national order in Luxembourg. It was established in 1858 by Willem III, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg, to be shared by both branches of the House of Nassau. Originally established with one class, William III later increased this to four, and eventually to five different ranks. However, none of these were recognized in Luxembourg and now the order remains at only the original one class – with the rank of Knight.

The order is rarely granted, other than to members of the two royal families. The sovereign of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg are joint Grand Masters of the Order. In a nice tradition, the sovereign of one country usually grants the order to the children of the other sovereign (i.e. Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg granted the order to Crown Prince Willem-Alexander in 1980 upon Queen Beatrix’ accession to the throne.)

The Badge is a white-enameled Maltese Cross, with a gold monogram ‘N’ between the arms. In the center is a blue enameled disc bearing the gold lion of the House of Nassau. The reverse of the disc is also blue-enameled and contains the motto ‘Je Maintiendrai’ (I Shall Maintain).

The Star of the Order is an 8-point silver star, bearing the same central disc as the badge, surrounded by the motto and a laurel wreath in gold on white enamel.

The Sash is orange with a narrow blue stripe along each edge. This design is used for the ribbons as well.

The Order of the House of Orange

The Order of the House of Orange (Huisorde van Oranje) was established by Queen Wilhelmina in 1905 and is the personal gift of the Sovereign. Being unable to succeed to the throne of Luxembourg, and thus not able to grant the previous Order of the Oak Crown, Wilhelmina established this new order to recognize personal service to the monarchy. Originally established with 18 different classes, it was significantly revised by Queen Juliana in 1969. The original 18 classes were broken down into separate groups – The Order of the House of Orange, The Order for Loyalty and Merit, The Order of the Crown, as well as Honorary Medals for Arts & Sciences and Initiative & Ingenuity.

The current structure of the Order of the House of Orange consists of 3 grades.

Grand Cross – badge worn on a sash over the right shoulder, with star worn on the left chest.
Large Cross of Honour – badge worn on a necklet.
Cross of Honour – badge worn on a ribbon on the left chest.

The Badge is a red-enameled Latin Cross, with a laurel wreath, in gold, between the arms. In the center is the horn of Orange, surrounded by a red-enameled ring with the motto ‘Je Maintiendrai’ (I Shall Maintain) in gold. On the reverse is the monogram of Queen Wilhelmina.

The Star of the Order is an 8-point silver star, bearing the central medallion from the badge.

The Sash is solid orange. This design is used for the ribbons as well.

The Order for Loyalty and Merit

The Order for Loyalty and Merit was established in 1969, as part of Queen Juliana’s reorganization of the original Order of the House of Orange. This order is primarily granted to staff of the Sovereign and other members of the Royal House.

There are two grades of this order – a silver medal, traditionally given after 25 years of service, and a gold medal – intended to be given after 40 years of service, but often given earlier.

The Badge is a blue-enameled Latin Cross, with a laurel wreath, in gold, between the arms. In the center is the horn of Orange, surrounded by a blue enameled ring with the motto ‘Je Maintiendrai’ (I Shall Maintain) in gold. On the reverse is the monogram of Queen Wilhelmina.

The badge is suspended from a solid orange ribbon and is worn on the left chest.

The Order of the Crown

The Order of the Crown was also established in 1969 as part of Queen Juliana’s reorganization of the Order of the House of Orange. Intended as a way to recognize foreigners who render special service to the Sovereign or the Royal House, the Order of the Crown is often granted at State visits.

There are 5 grades, as well as 3 medals.

Grand Cross – badge worn on a sash over the right shoulder, with 8-point star worn on the left chest.
Large Cross of Honour with Star – badge worn on a necklet, with 4-point star worn on the left chest.
Large Cross of Honour – badge worn on a necklet.
Cross of Honour with Rosette – badge worn on a ribbon, with rosette, on the left chest.
Cross of Honour – badge worn on a ribbon on the left chest.
Medals in Gold, Silver, and Bronze – worn on the left chest.

The Badge is a white-enameled Latin Cross, with a laurel wreath, in gold, between the arms. In the center is the horn of Orange, surrounded by a white-enameled ring with the motto ‘Je Maintiendrai’ (I Shall Maintain) in gold. On the reverse is the monogram of Queen Wilhelmina.

The Grand Cross Star of the Order is an 8-point silver star, bearing the central medallion from the badge.

The Cross of Honour Star of the Order is a 4-point silver star, bearing the central medallion from the badge.

The Sash is solid orange, with stripes of red, white and blue – representing the Dutch flag – just inside each edge.

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