The Royal Order of Charles XIII ( sv, Kungliga Carl XIII:s orden) is a Swedish

order of merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...

, founded by King

Charles XIII Charles XIII, or Carl XIII ( sv, Karl XIII, 7 October 1748 – 5 February 1818), was King of Sweden from 1809 and King of Norway from 1814 to his death. He was the second son (and younger brother to King Gustav III) of King Adolf Frederick of S ...

in 1811.

Membership

The Lord and Master of the Order is the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ti ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, currently King Carl XVI Gustaf. Membership of the order can only be conferred on

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

of the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to ...

faith. The membership of the order comprises: *Thirty lay members and never more than seven non-Swedish members, each holding the XI (highest) degree of the

Swedish Rite The Swedish Rite is a variation or Rite of Freemasonry that is common in Scandinavian countries and to a limited extent in Germany. It is different from other branches of Freemasonry in that, rather than having the three self-contained foundat ...

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, i.e. either regional heads or national heads. *Three clerical members, invariably priests or bishops of the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden ...

. *All princes of the Royal House of Sweden are members from birth, but do not wear the insignia unless they are Knight and Commander of the Red Cross of the Swedish Order of Freemasons. (Hence the insignia is not worn by the King nor the Duke of Värmland, who are both Knights of the Order from birth). *Foreign princes of Blood Royal may be admitted as honorary members, if they are also senior Freemasons, whether of the Swedish Order or another; they are full members of the Order, but do not count towards its membership limits;

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, (Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick; born 9 October 1935) is a member of the British royal family. Queen Elizabeth II and Edward were first cousins through their fathers, King George VI, and Prince George, Duke ...

(United Kingdom) was admitted to the Order on 6 November 2000. There can never be more than 33 persons who are members at the same time. (Men of royal blood are automatically members, and do not count as part of the 33 allotted slots).

Insignia and regalia

The insignia consists of a red St George cross, in the centre a white globe with the monogram of the institutor, two opposite letters C surrounding XIII, in gold. On the reverse the globe has the letter B in gold in an equilateral black and gold edged triangle. The cross is surmounted by a closed golden crown. The insignia is worn around the neck in a red ribbon. There is also red breast red cross: the insignia hence is the same as a Commander 1st Class and recipients rank after the Commanders 1st Class of the Swedish Royal Orders. The order uses a habit, introduced 1822, and new knights are dubbed.

Notes

References

*http://www.mastermason.com/lodge850/Reading/swedishrite.htm * "The Order of Charles XIII., founded in 1811, is granted to Freemasons of high degree. It is thus quite unique".
English webpage of the Swedish Grand Lodge of Masons
*Tom C Bergroth, ''Kungl. Carl XIII:s Orden 1811 - "til uppmuntran och belöning för medborgerliga och välgörande bemödanden til nödlidandes och allmänt gagn"'' (2002), {{Sweden Orders Awards established in 1811 1811 establishments in Sweden

Membership

Insignia and regalia

See also

Notes

References