Royal house House of Wettin Established 1807 | Motto PROVIDENTIÆ MEMOR | |
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Type State Order (formerly)
House Order (currently) Awarded for civil merit and service to the Royal House Grand Master HRH Alexander, Margrave of Meissen de jure King of Saxony | ||
The Order of the Rue Crown (German: Hausorden der Rautenkrone) is a Dynastic order of knighthood of the Kingdom of Saxony. It was established in 1807 by Frederick Augustus I, the first King of Saxony. The order takes its name from the green floral crown of rue found on the Coat of arms of Saxony.
Contents
History
The order was created to be the civil counterpart to the Military Order of St. Henry, the only order previously at the disposal of the new king. The order was originally limited to 24 knights, but exceptions were made for members of ruling houses and those whose membership in the order would add to its prestige. The Order of the Rue Crown was presented in a single grade, Knight. Twice, the order was granted in a special grade with diamonds, to Portuguese Prime Minister Dom Nuno José de Moura Barreto, Duke of Loulé in 1859 and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in 1885. From its founding to the fall of the Kingdom of Saxony in 1918, the order was presented 332 times.
Appearance
The badge of the order is a gold Maltese cross enameled in green with a white border. The white center medallion features the crowned monogram of Frederick Augustus I of Saxony encircled by a green crown of rue. Between the arms of the cross is a golden crown of rue.
The star of the order is of made of silver, and has eight points. The center of the star bears a gold medallion with the motto of the order "PROVIDENTIÆ MEMOR" inside a ring of green rue leaves.
The badge of the order is borne on a ribband of grass green worn over the right shoulder.