Type Feminine Order Status House Order | Royal house House of Wittelsbach Sovereign Franz, Duke of Bavaria | |
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First Sovereign Countess Palatine Elisabeth Auguste of Sulzbach Grades Dame of 1st class
Dame of 2nd class | ||
The Order of Saint Elizabeth was an all-female chivalric and charitable order in the Kingdom of Bavaria. The following excerpt is from The Orders of Knighthood, British and Foreign (1884):
The first Consort of the Elector Charles Theodore of the Palatinate, Elizabeth Augusta, daughter of the Palatine Joseph Charles Emanuel of Schultzbach, founded this Order for ladies in honor of her sainted patroness and namesake on the 18th October 1766, as a purely charitable institution for the poor. It was confirmed on the 31st of January 1767, by Pope Clement XII, and endowed with various indulgencies. The Catholic religion and the Seize Quartiers – the proof of noble descent running through sixteen generations of their own or their husband’s ancestors – are indispensable conditions for candidates. The Grand Mistress is, however, empowered to nominate and unlimited number of ladies, from Princely Houses and her own Court, as also six other married or widowed ladies of noble, but not ancient descent. The nomination takes place either on Easter or on Saint Elizabeth’s Day (19th November). The entrance fee is four ducats. The badge is a white enameled cross, representing on one side Saint Elizabeth dispensing charity to the poor, and on the other, the initials of the founder. It is worn on the left breast by a blue ribbon with a red border. No Member can appear in public without it, except by fine of one ducat. The King appoints the Grand Mistress.