HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Royal Order of the Polar Star ( Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish
order of chivalry An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is an order of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades ( 1099–1291) and paired with medieval concept ...
created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the
Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the ...
and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of the Polar Star was until 1975 intended as a reward for Swedish and foreign "civic merits, for devotion to duty, for science, literary, learned and useful works and for new and beneficial institutions". Its motto is, as seen on the blue enameled centre of the badge, ''Nescit Occasum'', a Latin phrase meaning "It knows no decline". This is to represent that Sweden is as constant as a never setting star. The Order's colour is black. This was chosen so that when wearing the black sash, the white, blue and golden cross would stand out and shine as the light of enlightenment from the black surface. The choice of black for the Order's ribbon may also have been inspired by the black ribbon of the French
Order of St. Michael , status = Abolished by decree of Louis XVI on 20 June 1790Reestablished by Louis XVIII on 16 November 1816Abolished in 1830 after the July RevolutionRecognised as a dynastic order of chivalry by the ICOC , founder = Louis XI of France , hig ...
, which at the time the Order of the Polar Star was instituted was also awarded to meritorious civil servants. At present, the ribbon of the Order is blue with yellow stripes near the edges (i.e., the national colors, but the reverse of the Order of the Sword's yellow ribbon with blue stripes near the edges). Women and clergymen are not called Knight or Commander, but simply Member (''Ledamot''). Since the reorganization of the orders in 1975, the Order is only awarded to foreigners and members of the royal family. It is often awarded to foreign office holders (such as prime and senior ministers) during Swedish state visits. It is also awarded to junior members of royal families who would not qualify for the more prestigious Royal Order of the Seraphim. In 2019, a parliamentary committee was instructed to establish guidelines on how to re-introduce the Swedish orders, including the Order of the Polar Star, into the Swedish honours system, and how Swedish citizens again can be appointed to Swedish orders. The committee presented its findings in September 2021 and the Government has declared that a
bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pla ...
on the subject would be presented to the
Riksdag The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...
on April 19th 2022. The bill passed the Riksdag by a large majority on 19 June 2022. On 20 December 2022, the Swedish Government published a new regulation that repealed the 1974 regulation, and once again opened the Royal Orders to Swedish citizens again and reactivated the Sword Order and Vasa Order, to be in effect from 1 February 2023.


Grades

The Order has five degrees: # ''Commander Grand Cross'' (KmstkNO) – Wears the badge on a collar (chain) or on a sash over the right shoulder, plus the star on the left chest; # ''Commander 1st Class'' (KNO1kl) – Wears the badge on a necklet, plus the star on the left chest; # ''Commander'' (KNO) – Wears the badge on a necklet; # ''Knight 1st Class'' (RNO1kl/LNO1kl) – Wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest; # ''Knight'' (RNO/LNO) – Wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest. Note: A clergymen or woman is made a ''Ledamöte'' ("Member") instead of Commander or Knight. The Order also has a medal: the "Polar Star Medal".


Insignia and habit

* The ''collar'' of the Order is in gold, consists of eleven white-enamelled five-pointed stars and eleven crowned back-to-back
monogram A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series ...
"F"s (for King
Frederick I of Sweden Frederick I ( sv, Fredrik I; 28 April 1676 – 5 April 1751) was prince consort of Sweden from 1718 to 1720, and List of Swedish monarchs, King of Sweden from 1720 until his death and (as ''Frederick I'') also Landgrave of Landgraviate of Hesse-K ...
) in blue enamel, joined by chains. * The ''badge'' of the Order is a white enamelled
Maltese Cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which develope ...
, in silver for a Knight and in gilt for a Knight 1st Class and above; crowns appear between the arms of the cross. The central disc, which is identical on both sides, is in blue enamel, with a white-enamelled five-pointed star surrounded by the Order's motto ''Nescit occasum'' ("It knows no decline"). The badge hangs from a royal crown. * The ''star'' of the Order is a silver
Maltese cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which develope ...
, with a silver five-pointed star at the centre. The star of a Grand Cross also has straight silver rays between the arms of the cross. * The ''ribbon'' of the Order used to be black, but is now blue with yellow stripes near its borders (see above). In spring 2013, the Grand Master decided that Swedish royal princes would wear the Order with the original black ribbon, while other members would still use the blue with yellow stripes. The last black ribbon 18kt gold Knight class was awarded in 1988 to historian George Loper of
Bridgeton, New Jersey Bridgeton is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the county seat of Cumberland County
, for his research which was the basis for the New Sweden Farmstead Museum. This was presented by the King. * The Order used to have a distinctive red and white habit worn on formal occasions such as at chapters of the Order. The habit included red breeches and red doublet, both with padded shoulders and white
piping Within industry, piping is a system of pipes used to convey fluids (liquids and gases) from one location to another. The engineering discipline of piping design studies the efficient transport of fluid. Industrial process piping (and accompa ...
, a white sash with a gold
fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts * Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe" * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * The Fringe, the ...
around the waist and a red
mantle A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that. Mantle may refer to: *Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear **Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...
with white lining. The star of the Order was embroidered on the left breast of both the doublet and the mantle. A black
top hat A top hat (also called a high hat, a cylinder hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat for men traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditional ...
with a gold hat band and a plume of white
ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There ...
and black
egret Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same buil ...
feathers and red
boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is c ...
s with gilded
spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to ba ...
s completed the habit. The collar of the Order was worn over the shoulders of the doublet. Clergymen 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 Sw ...
wore the Order around the neck with a white
cassock The cassock or soutane is a Christian clerical clothing coat used by the clergy and male religious of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, in addition to some clergy in certain Protestant denom ...
with a red sash with a gold fringe around the waist and a red mantle with a white lining and with the star of the Order embroidered on its left side.


Gallery

File:Swedish Order of the Polar Star 01.png, Grand Cross set of insignia (Pre-1975). File:Swedish Order of the Polar Star - Grand Cross Star.png, Grand Cross breast star. File:Swedish Order of the Polar Star - Grand Cross set.png, Set of the Grand Cross (Pre-1975). File:Swedish Order of the Polar Star - Grand Cross badge.png, Badge of the Grand Cross. File:Swedish Order of the Polar Star set of insignia.png, Grand Cross in its case of issue. File:Nils Barck av Lundberg.jpg, Nils Barck av Lundberg wearing the Collar of the Order. File:Swedish Order of the Polar Star Commander grades (Pre & Post-1975).png, Pre and Post-1975 sets of the Commander grade of the Order. File:KNO1kl.jpg, Grand Officer (Commander 1st Class) Star of the Order. File:Swedish Order of the Polar Star Commander grades sets of insignia (Pre & Post-1975).png, Pre and Post-1975 sets of the Commander grade of the Order. File:Order of the Polar Star badge with diamonds (Sweden) - Tallinn Museum of Orders.jpg, Badge of the Order with diamonds.


See also

* Orders, decorations, and medals of Sweden


References


Bibliography

* Per Nordenvall, ''Kungliga Serafimerorden 1748–1998''. Stockholm: Kungl. Maj:ts orden, 1998. *
Order of the Polar Star, Royal Court of Sweden
* Hieronymussen, Paul; Struwing, Aage, (phot. ill.); Crowley, Christine (English trans.). ''Orders and Decorations of Europe in Color'' . The MacMillan Company. New York, 1967. Originally published as ''Europaeiske Ordner I Faever''. Politikens Forlag, 1966. Color plates # 28-32; text pp. 126–127. * Lawrence-Archer, J. H. ''The Orders of Chivalry from the Original Statutes of the Various Orders of Knighthood and other Sources of Information''. London: W. H. Allen and Company, 13 Waterloo Place, Pall Mall, S. W. Publishers to the India Office. 1887.


External links



{{DEFAULTSORT:Order Of The Polar Star Awards established in 1748 1748 establishments in Sweden