Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George
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The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (SMOCG) ( it, Sacro Militare Ordine Costantiniano di San Giorgio, es, Sagrada Orden Militar Constantiniana de San Jorge), also historically referred to as the Imperial Constantinian Order of Saint George and the Order of the Constantinian Angelic Knights of Saint George, is a
dynastic order of knighthood A dynastic order, monarchical order, or house order is an order under royal patronage. Such an order is bestowed by, as a legitimate , a sovereign or the head of a once-sovereign ruling family. These are often considered part of the cultural pat ...
of the
House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies The House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies is a cadet branch of the Spanish Bourbons that ruled Southern Italy and Sicily for more than a century in the 18th and 19th centuries. It descends from the Capetian dynasty in legitimate male line through Phili ...
. Currently, the grand magistry of the order is disputed among the two claimants to the headship of the former reigning
House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies The House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies is a cadet branch of the Spanish Bourbons that ruled Southern Italy and Sicily for more than a century in the 18th and 19th centuries. It descends from the Capetian dynasty in legitimate male line through Phili ...
as heirs of the
House of Farnese The House of Farnese family (, also , ) was an influential family in Renaissance Italy. The titles of Duke of Parma and Piacenza and Duke of Castro were held by various members of the family. Its most important members included Pope Paul II ...
, namely Prince Pedro and Prince Carlo. The order was confirmed as a religious-military order in a 1718 papal bull owing to a notable success in liberating Christians in the Peloponnese. Alongside the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...
it is the sole international Catholic Order which still has this status today. Although it is not an order of chivalry under patronage of the
Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
, membership is restricted to practising Catholics. Though the order is alleged to have been founded in its original form by
Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...
in Antiquity and then restored under later
Byzantine emperors This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as ...
, the actual origin of the order can be traced to the 16th century, when it was founded by an Albanian family by the name Angelo Flavio Comneno. Though this family, extinct in 1698, claimed to be connected to the Byzantine
Komnenos Komnenos ( gr, Κομνηνός; Latinized Comnenus; plural Komnenoi or Comneni (Κομνηνοί, )) was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185, and later, as the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγαλοκομνην ...
and
Angelos The House of Angelos (; gr, Ἄγγελος), feminine form Angelina (), plural Angeloi (), was a Byzantine Greek noble lineage which rose to prominence through the marriage of its founder, Constantine Angelos, with Theodora Komnene, the you ...
dynasties, such a familial connection cannot be proven. The order being connected to the Byzantine Empire is fantasy as chivalric orders were completely unknown in the Byzantine world, so much of the alleged history of the order was invented much later. Outside the generally recognized line of grand masters from its origin in the 16th century to the present day, there have been many people claiming to be grand masters who have been forgers and title-seekers hoping to gain support for invented lines of descent from ancient and medieval nobility.


The Italian State

The Italian Republic recognises the order as an Order of Chivalry under Law n° 178 of 1951 authorises the Italian citizens awarded with the Constantinian decoration to show them as authoritatively recognised also by the Italian State Council in its decision number 1869/81. Therefore those citizens lawfully awarded with Constantinian decorations can ask to use them on the territory of the Italian Republic by Presidential Decree or Decree of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. By Decree of the President of the Republic, in 1973 the National Italian Association of the Knights of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George. The order is on the
Orders, decorations, and medals of Italy The Italian honours system is a means to reward achievements or service to the Italian Republic, formerly the Kingdom of Italy including the Italian Social Republic. Orders of chivalry Italian Republic There are five orders of knighthood ...
list.


History


Origins

The legendary origins of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George trace its foundation to an apocryphal order founded by
Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...
. Although it has sometimes been held that the order would have been restored/created by the Byzantine emperor
Isaac II Angelos Isaac II Angelos or Angelus ( grc-gre, Ἰσαάκιος Κομνηνός Ἄγγελος, ; September 1156 – January 1204) was Byzantine Emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204. His father Andronikos Doukas Angelos was a ...
, any claimed connection between chivalric orders and the
Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...
are pure fantasy, as chivalric orders in the modern Western sense were completely unknown in the Byzantine world. At best, any connection to some ancient group would be excessively indirect and abstracted. The order was actually founded by Albanian nobles of the Angelo Flavio Comneno family (claiming connection to the Byzantine houses of
Angelos The House of Angelos (; gr, Ἄγγελος), feminine form Angelina (), plural Angeloi (), was a Byzantine Greek noble lineage which rose to prominence through the marriage of its founder, Constantine Angelos, with Theodora Komnene, the you ...
and
Komnenos Komnenos ( gr, Κομνηνός; Latinized Comnenus; plural Komnenoi or Comneni (Κομνηνοί, )) was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185, and later, as the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγαλοκομνην ...
) in the 16th century, attested in association with a man by the name Andrea Angelo Flavio Comneno, and his brother Paolo Angelo Flavio Comneno, in 1545. In 1545, the brothers Andrea and Paolo were officially acknowledged as descendants of the Angeloi emperors (a claim seen as doubtful today) by Pope Paul III. The brothers were also guaranteed the right to inherit territory in the former
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, should such territory be recovered from the Ottomans. Their family remained grand masters of the order until 1698 when Giovanni Andrea Angelo Flavio Comneno Lascaris Paleologo, who also claimed the titles of "Prince of Macedonia", "Duke of
Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...
" and "Count of Drivasto, Durazzo etc." upon his death assigned the order not to any living relatives but to Francesco Farnese, the duke of Parma. Outside the generally recognized line of grand masters from its origin in the 17th century to the present day, there have been many people claiming to be grand masters who have been forgers and title-seekers hoping to gain support for invented lines of descent from ancient and medieval nobility.


Farnese family, male primogeniture

Its incorporation as a religious order of the Catholic Church hereditary in the
House of Farnese The House of Farnese family (, also , ) was an influential family in Renaissance Italy. The titles of Duke of Parma and Piacenza and Duke of Castro were held by various members of the family. Its most important members included Pope Paul II ...
and its heirs, the Bourbons, dates from the transfer to Francesco Farnese on 11 January 1698, an act confirmed in an imperial diploma, "Agnoscimus et notum facimus", of the emperor, Leopold I, dated 5 August 1699, and the apostolic brief, "Sincerae Fidei", issued by
Pope Innocent XII Pope Innocent XII ( la, Innocentius XII; it, Innocenzo XII; 13 March 1615 – 27 September 1700), born Antonio Pignatelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1691 to his death in September 1700. He ...
on 24 October 1699. These confirmed the succession of the grand magistry to the Farnese family and its heirs as an ecclesiastical office (therefore limited to males) and, crucially, did not tie it to tenure of sovereignty of the Duchy of Parma. Among the first major acts of the Farnese grand magistry were revised, amended and expanded statutes, issued on 25 May 1705 and confirmed in a papal brief dated 12 July 1706; both these confirmed the requirement that the grand magistry should pass by male primogeniture. Following the order's contribution to Prince Eugene of Savoy's campaign to drive the Turks from the Balkans between 1716 and 1718, Pope Clement XI, a former cardinal protector of the order, confirmed the order as a religious order of the Roman Catholic Church in the bull, "Militantis Ecclesiae", of 27 May 1718.


Claim by the House of Two Sicilies

With the death of the last male of the
House of Farnese The House of Farnese family (, also , ) was an influential family in Renaissance Italy. The titles of Duke of Parma and Piacenza and Duke of Castro were held by various members of the family. Its most important members included Pope Paul II ...
on 30 January 1731, the grand magistry was claimed by Charles, eldest son of
Elisabeth Farnese Elisabeth Farnese ( Italian: ''Elisabetta Farnese'', Spanish: ''Isabel Farnesio''; 25 October 169211 July 1766) was Queen of Spain by marriage to King Philip V. She exerted great influence over Spain's foreign policy and was the ''de facto'' r ...
and King
Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mon ...
; Charles also inherited the duchies of Parma and Piacenza from the Farnese. After becoming king of Naples and Sicily in 1734, Charles was forced to surrender Parma to Austria in 1736, but he retained the Constantinian grand magistry. On 16 October 1759, Charles abdicated the grand magistry (ten days after abdicating the “Italian Sovereignties”) to his second surviving son, King Ferdinand IV and III of Naples and Sicily (from 1815
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand I (12 January 1751 – 4 January 1825) was the King of the Two Sicilies from 1816, after his restoration following victory in the Napoleonic Wars. Before that he had been, since 1759, Ferdinand IV of the Kingdom of Naples and Ferdinand I ...
). The administration of the order was transferred from Parma to Naples in 1768. Despite the loss of its original basis of papal legitimacy, the Order continued to function under Ferdinand I and his successor heads of the
House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies The House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies is a cadet branch of the Spanish Bourbons that ruled Southern Italy and Sicily for more than a century in the 18th and 19th centuries. It descends from the Capetian dynasty in legitimate male line through Phili ...
. It has continued to do so after the fall of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies; the view of the Bourbon-Sicily family is that the grand magistry was never united with the Sicilian crown, but remained independent. Ferdinand's words, in a decree of 8 March 1796, were: "In his (the king's) royal person there exists together two very distinct qualities, the one of monarch of the Two Sicilies, and the other of grand master of the illustrious, royal and military Constantinian Order, which though united gloriously in the same person form nonetheless at the same time two separate independent lordships". The succession of Ferdinand I as grand master was resented by some of the Parmesan nobility but when in 1748, Charles III's younger brother Philip succeeded as duke of Parma, he explicitly recognised his brother Charles and later his nephew Ferdinand as grand master in a series of decrees and official acts. Philip's son Ferdinand, after becoming duke of Parma, sent an emissary to the Spanish court to try to persuade the king of Spain to intervene with the king of Naples and Sicily and persuade the latter to give up the grand mastership, but without success.


Separate Parmesan Order from 1817

The Parmesan Constantinian Order was a new foundation, instituted by Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, in 1817 and following her death the duke of Lucca, heir to the Bourbon-Parma succession, became duke of Parma under the terms of the
Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
and assumed the grand mastership which is today claimed by Prince Carlos, Duke of Parma. See the historical note authored by Paolo Conforte, a senior officer of the Parma dynastic order, who maintains that the Parma Order, despite its late foundation, is the successor of the original order; this view was explicitly rejected by the Holy See in 1860 and in 1913 the Holy See did not respond to a request from the Parma ducal family to accord their order similar privileges to those granted to the order of which Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta was grand master.


The Order under the House of Two Sicilies

In 1910, Pope Pius X appointed the first of three successive cardinal protectors and, in 1913, approved a series of privileges for the chaplains of the order. In 1915,
Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...
dedicated the Constantinian chapel in the basilica of Santa Croce al Flaminio, which had been built with donations from the knights, who included Monsignor
Eugenio Pacelli Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
, later Pope Pius XII. In 1916, the pope restored the church of Saint Anthony Abbot to the Order - this church had originally been given to the Constantinian order along with the properties of the religious order of that name in 1777, but had been put under the direction of the archdiocese of Naples in 1861. In 1919, new statutes received papal approval and Cardinal Ranuzzi de' Bianchi was appointed cardinal protector, the last to hold this post. Following the intervention of the grand magistry of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus in 1924, whose grand master, the king of Italy, objected to the awarding of the order to leading Italian noblemen, the Holy See felt the close relationship with Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta might prove an obstacle to settling the Roman question. It was, therefore, decided not to reappoint a successor to Cardinal Ranuzzi de' Bianchi at his death in 1927.


Disputed succession, further schism of the Order

The succession to the grand magistry of this order has been disputed among as many as three branches of Bourbons since 1960. The dispute is rooted in different interpretations of the so-called "Act of Cannes" of 14 December 1900 in which the count of Caserta's second son, Prince Carlo (grandfather of Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria), promised that he would renounce his succession to the crown of the
Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and all ...
in execution of the "Pragmatic Decree" of 1759. This decree required that if the king of Spain, or his immediate heir, should inherit the Two Sicilies crown, he would renounce the latter to the next in line. Whether the "Pragmatic Decree" applied to Prince Carlo's situation in 1900, and whether the grand magistry of the order was included in such a renunciation, are both issues in dispute, yet within the world of academia, the latter has been, almost without exception, ruled in favour of the Hispano-Neapolitan branch. The Act of Cannes literally states: Supporters of the late Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria and his only son and heir,
Prince Pedro, Duke of Calabria , title = Duke of CalabriaGrandee of SpainCount of Caserta , image = , caption = , succession = Head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (disputed) , reign-type = Tenure , reign =5 October 2015 – present , pre ...
assert that Prince Carlo's renunciation was conditional on his actually inheriting both the Spanish and Two Sicilies crowns and/or that, even in that circumstances, such a renunciation did not include the position of grand master of the Constantinian order, which they regard as separate from the crown. Indeed, the Act of Cannes never mentioned the order at all, although most authors argue that even if it had, its grand magistry is by nature a trustee Farnesian dynastic legacy that is not linked in any shape or form to the throne of the Two Sicilies. The official Spanish branch website, headed by Prince Pedro, asserts that the renunciation was conditioned on facts that never arose, and that the order and the crown are governed by separate rules. Further, supporters of Infante Carlos argue that the "Act of Cannes" was legally defective and thus void. The Infante Don Carlos died on the 5 October 2015 and was succeeded by his only son,
Prince Pedro, Duke of Calabria , title = Duke of CalabriaGrandee of SpainCount of Caserta , image = , caption = , succession = Head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (disputed) , reign-type = Tenure , reign =5 October 2015 – present , pre ...
. Supporters of Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro reject all three positions advanced by Infante Carlos' supporters, and claim that the rival claimant's ancestor validly renounced both the crown of the Two Sicilies and the grand magistry. Each branch appoints a Roman Catholic cardinal as grand prior. On 16 October 2012, the Vatican Secretary of State renewed its position that the
Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
does not recognise any order except the seven Papal Orders listed on their statement. The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George was not one of those orders. Nonetheless, the Hispano-Neapolitan Order's use of a chapel in Barcelona Cathedral has twice been confirmed by the Apostolic Penitentiary and the Hispanio-Neapolitan Order's Masses have been celebrated by the Order's Grand Prior Cardinal
Gerhard Ludwig Müller Gerhard Ludwig Müller (; born 31 December 1947) is a German cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) from his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 until 2017. He was e ...
in the Major
Basilica of Saint Mary Major The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the large ...
, Rome, as well as in Naples, Palermo, London, and Philadelphia, while other senior Roman Curia cardinals have also celebrated at investitures and other religious ceremonies of the Order.


Version led by Prince Pedro, Duke of Calabria (Hispano-Neapolitan branch)

Spaniards and Italians who have been granted the Constantinian Order by Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria and his heir Prince Pedro have applied for, and received, authorisation to wear the decorations of the order. In a decree of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Introductor de Embajadores, 28 November 2014, the Ministry stated that along with the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...
, the Equestrian
Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under ...
and the Royal
Order of Saint Januarius ) , clasps = , post-nominals = , established = 3 July 1738 , first_award = , last_award = , founder = Charles VII of Naples , head_title = Grand Master , head = Disputed:Prince P ...
(of which Prince Pedro, Duke of Calabria, is also Grand Master) "... la Sagrada y Militar Orden Constantiniana de San Jorge fueron tuteladas por la Corona de Espana o se hallan estrechamente vinculadas a su Historia, tal y como preve en este sentido el Ministerio de Defensa en su Instruccion General 06/12 sobre autorización de uso de recompensas civiles y militares." ("...the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, came under the protection of or were linked to the Crown and history of Spain, as set forth by the Ministry of Defence in its General Instruction 06/12, on permission to wear civil and military awards"). The status of the Constantinian Order was again defined in a statement by the Introductor de Embajadores, dated 2 June 2017 and issued in Spanish, French and English - the latter read: "...Hereby Certifies That the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George and the Royal Order of Saint Januarius are officially recognized by Spain as Orders historically tied to the Crown of Spain, pursuant to the Ministry's Circular Order 4/2014 of 28 November. The use of the insignias of these two Orders is subject to the appropriate authorization, issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as stipulated by the Royal Decree of 5 June 1916, signed by the Introducer of Ambassadors, Ambassador-Secretary of the
Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...
and the Order of Civil Merit." The Constantinian Order awarded by Prince Pedro is explicitly authorised to be worn by the governments of
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
and
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and citizens of
the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
have also been authorised to wear it. The
United States Department of the Army The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the U.S. The Department of the Army is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is or ...
has included the Order among those for which authorisation may be given to wear the decorations on the official list of such awards, under Spain.


Version led by Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro (Franco-Neapolitan branch)

In the 1990s, under the authority of Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro, the organization and activities of his version of the order were "revived" as the so-called "Delegation for Great Britain and Ireland of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George". This version of the Order was formerly led by a British Catholic
public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...
advisor as its "magistral delegate", and has awarded him other honours. In August 2016, the Vice-Grand Chancellor of the Hispano-Neapolitan branch,
Guy Stair Sainty Guy Stair Sainty, (born 7 December 1950) is a British art dealer and author on nobility, royal genealogy, and heraldry. Life and education Guy Stair Sainty is the son of Christopher Lawrence Sainty and Virginia Cade Stair, grand-daughter of ...
stated that the order headed by Prince Pedro had no connection with this PR advisor, nor with his business activities, nor with the order of which he is described as “delegate”. Italian citizens who have received the Constantinian Order from Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro may apply to the Italian ministry of foreign affairs for authorisation to wear the insignia. In 2011, the version of the Constantinian Order headed by the Duke of Castro, became one of the 3,536 NGO's. In 2011-12 some 600 organizations applied for consultative status. On average between 100 and 150 applications are recommended by the Committee in each of its two sessions per year non-governmental organizations to hold consultative status at the Economic and Social Council at the United Nations. The United Nations recognises the organisation as qualifying for this status without acknowledging its historical claims or any particular character as an Order of knighthood. In 2016, the branch of the Order led by the Duke of Castro was involved in controversy over the election of
Patricia Scotland Patricia Janet Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, (born 19 August 1955), is a British diplomat, barrister and politician, serving as the sixth secretary-general of the Commonwealth of Nations. She was elected at the 2015 Commonwealth Head ...
as
Commonwealth Secretary-General The Commonwealth secretary-general is the head of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the central body which has served the Commonwealth of Nations since its establishment in 1965, and responsible for representing the Commonwealth publicly. The Commo ...
. It was alleged that Scotland used the Order's awards to influence votes in her favour through reciprocal exchanges of honours. Investigations resulted in a knighthood granted to the Duke of Castro by the Governor General of Antigua being revoked.


Attempted reconciliation

On 24 January 2014, the day before the Blessed
Beatification Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...
of the Venerable Servant of God Princess Maria Cristina of Savoy (later Queen Maria Cristina, Queen Consort of the Two Sicilies), the two disputed heads of the house: Prince Pedro, Duke of Noto (on behalf of his father Prince Carlos, Duke of Calabria) and Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro signed an "Act of Reconciliation" at Naples' Excelsior Hotel. This act appeared to have ended the longstanding differences over the titles used by the two branches of the House of the Two Sicilies. The signing of the act of reconciliation was done in the presence of the Duchesses of Noto and Castro, the Duke of Noto's mother, the Duchess of Calabria, the Duke of Noto's sisters, Maria and Inés, and their husbands, Archduke Simeon and Michele Carrelli Palombi, their aunt, Princess Teresa, Marchioness of Laserna, the Duke of Castro's sister, Princess Napoleon, Prince Casimiro of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and his wife Princess Margherita, and the Duke of Braganza. Owing to his state of health, the Infante Don Carlos, Duke of Calabria was unable to attend the ceremony. The Act stated that the two branches will recognize each other's titles for the present holders and their successors; the titles of the senior, Spanish line, being Duke of Calabria, Duke of Noto and Duke of Capua, and of the junior line, being Duke of Castro and Duchess of Palermo and Duchess of Capri which were accorded to the Duke and Duchess of Castro's two daughters. The final intention was to work towards a future where the two branches might co-operate together (although the revival of the Order of Francis I has never been accepted by the senior, Spanish line.)


Renewed schism

In May 2016 Prince Carlo unilaterally renounced the agreement and subsequently conferred the titles of Duchess of Calabria and Duchess of Noto on his daughters, declaring the former to be the heiress to the headship of the Royal House and the Constantinian Grand Mastership. This act has not been recognised by members of the branch descended from
Prince Gabriel of Bourbon-Two Sicilies , image = Gabriel de Borbón Franzen.jpg , caption = Portrayed wearing a cavalry uniform of the Spanish Army, c. 1914 , spouse = Princess Malgorzata Izabella Czartoryska Princess Cecylia Lubomirska , issue = Prince An ...
. The legality of this has been disputed by Prince Pedro on the grounds that the succession to the Two Sicilies crown was established in two international treaties (Vienna 1737 and Naples 1759) as well as the Pragmatic Decree of 1759 and the nineteenth century Two Sicilies constitutions and therefore could not be changed by a unilateral act, even by an undisputed head of the royal house. The succession to the Constantinian Grand Mastership was confirmed by an Imperial Bull and a Papal Brief, and by the Bull Militantis Ecclesiae, and required that the Grand Mastership, an ecclesiastical office in canon law, could only be held by males and must pass by primogeniture to the heirs of the House of Farnese; the purported change to the succession by Prince Carlo has not been approved by the Holy See.


Ranks of the Order


Grades

;Special Class (This category created by the Order headed by the Duke of Castro and is not considered part of the historical ranks of the Order.) ** Sovereign Knight Grand Cross with Collar ** Knight Grand Cross, Special Class ;Justice ** Bailiff Knight Grand Cross of Justice with Collar ** Bailiff Knight Grand Cross of Justice ** Knight/Dame Grand Cross of Justice ** Knight/Dame Grand Officer of Justice (The rank of Grand Officer was recently introduced into the ranks of the Order headed by the Duke of Castro) ** Knight/Dame Commander of Justice, giuspatronato (The rank of Commander was created by the Order headed by the Duke of Castro) ** Knight/Dame Commander of Justice (The rank of Commander was created by the Order headed by the Duke of Castro) ** Knight/Dame of Justice ;Grace or Jure Sanguinis (The name Grace was changed to Jure Sanguinis by
Infante Alfonso, Duke of Calabria , title =Duke of Calabria, Count of Caserta , image =Infante Alfonso de Calabria.jpg , caption = Portrayed wearing the uniform of the Regimiento de Húsares de la Princesa, c. 1915 , succession = Head of the House ...
, when Grand Master.) ** Knight/Dame Grand Cross of Grace, or Jure Sanguinis ** Knight/Dame Grand Officer of Grace (recently introduced into the ranks of the Order headed by the Duke of Castro) ** Knight/Dame Commander of Grace, giuspatronato (The rank of Commander was created by the Order headed by the Duke of Castro) ** Knight/Dame Commander of Grace (The rank of Commander was created by the Order headed by the Duke of Castro) ** Knight/Dame of Grace or Jure Sanguinis ; ;Merit ** Knight/Dame Grand Cross of Merit ** Knight/Dame Grand Officer of Merit, Special Class (recently introduced into the ranks of the Order headed by the Duke of Castro) ** Knight/Dame Grand Officer of Merit (a rank created by the Order headed by the Duke of Castro) ** Knight/Dame Commander of Merit, giuspatronato (a rank created by the Order headed by the Duke of Castro) ** Knight/Dame Commander of Merit (a rank created by the Order headed by the Duke of Castro) ** Knight/Dame of Merit ; ;Office **Knight/Dame of Office ; ;Medal ** Gold, silver or bronze ** Special Class (a rank created by the Order headed by the Duke of Castro) ** 1st Class ** 2nd Class (a rank created by the Order headed by the Duke of Castro)


Recipients

;Bailiffs Grand Cross *
Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples , house = Savoy , spouse = , issue = Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice , father = Umberto II of Italy , mother = Princess Marie-José of Belgium , birth_date = , birth_place = Naples, Kingdo ...
* Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Prince of Venice * Angelo Bagnasco *
William Wakefield Baum William Wakefield Baum (November 21, 1926 – July 23, 2015) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau in Missouri (1970–1973) and archbishop of the Archdiocese of Wa ...
* Robert Hugo, Duke of Parma * Archduke Simeon von Habsburg * Archduke Johannes of Austria * Archduke Ludwig of Austria * Archduke Josef Karl of Austria *
Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza '' Dom'' Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza (23 September 1907 – 24 December 1976) was the claimant to the defunct Portuguese throne, as both the Miguelist successor of his father, Miguel Januário, Duke of Braganza, and later as the head of th ...
*
Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza (Portuguese: ''Duarte Pio de Bragança'': born 15 May 1945) is the current Duke of Braganza, claimant to the title of King of Portugal of the dormant Portuguese throne, as the head of the House of Braganza. The Mig ...
* Henrique de Bragança * Prince Charles-Emmanuel de Bourbon-Parme * Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, former king of Bulgaria *
Paul of Greece Paul ( el, Παύλος, ''Pávlos''; 14 December 1901 – 6 March 1964) was King of Greece from 1 April 1947 until his death in 1964. He was succeeded by his son, Constantine II. Paul was first cousin to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh an ...
* King
Constantine II of Greece Constantine II ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Βʹ, ''Konstantínos II''; 2 June 1940) reigned as the last King of Greece, from 6 March 1964 until the abolition of the Greek monarchy on 1 June 1973. Constantine is the only son of King Paul a ...
* Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia *
Andrew Bertie Andrew Willoughby Ninian Bertie (15 May 1929 – 7 February 2008) was Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta from 1988 until his death in 2008. On 20 February 2015 a formal inquiry for the cause of his beatificat ...
*
Giacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto Fra' Giacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto (9 December 1944 – 29 April 2020) was the Prince and 80th Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Born in Rome to a noble family with extensive ties to the Vatican, he co ...
* Giacomo Biffi * Vicente de Cadenas y Vicent * Carlo Caffarra *
Carl, Duke of Württemberg Carl Maria Peter Ferdinand Philipp Albrecht Joseph Michael Pius Konrad Robert Ulrich Herzog von Württemberg (1 August 1936 – 7 June 2022) was the head of the House of Württemberg from 1975 to 2022. He was succeeded by his grandson Wilhelm. L ...
*
Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia Franz Wilhelm Prince of PrussiaIn 1919 royalty and nobility were mandated to lose their privileges in Germany; thereafter hereditary titles were to be legally borne only as part of the surname, according tArticle 109of the Weimar Constitution. ...
*
Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Hohenzollern , succession = Prince of Hohenzollern , image = Rittner Friedrich Wilhelm Fürst von Hohenzollern 2003.jpg , caption = Portrait by Günter Rittner, 2003. , reign = 6 February 1965 – 16 September 2010 , reign-type = Tenure , ...
* Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern * Cardinal Józef Glemp *
Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia Infante Jaime of Spain, Duke of Segovia, Duke of Anjou (''Jaime Leopoldo Isabelino Enrique Alejandro Alberto Alfonso Víctor Acacio Pedro Pablo María de Borbón y Battenberg'') (23 June 1908 – 20 March 1975), was the second son of King Alfon ...
* Andrzej Ciechanowiecki * Cardinal
Pietro Palazzini Pietro Palazzini (19 May 1912 – 11 October 2000) was an Italian Cardinal, who helped to save the lives of Jewish people in World War II. He was consecrated bishop by the pope in 1962 and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1973. He has been comm ...
* Cardinal
Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo (27 August 1925 – 19 November 2017) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic church. He worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1977 until he retired in 2001. As Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint ...
* Cardinal
Gerhard Ludwig Müller Gerhard Ludwig Müller (; born 31 December 1947) is a German cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) from his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 until 2017. He was e ...
* Cardinal
Giovanni Battista Re Giovanni Battista Re (born 30 January 1934) is an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church whose service has been primarily in the Roman Curia. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2001. He was prefect of the Congregation for Bishops ...
* Cardinal
Gianfranco Ravasi Gianfranco Ravasi (born 18 October 1942) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a biblical scholar. A cardinal since 2010, he was President of the Pontifical Council for Culture from 2007 to 2022. He headed Milan's Ambrosian Librar ...
* Cardinal Carlos Osoro Sierra * Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera * Cardinal
Jean-Claude Hollerich Jean-Claude Hollerich, S.J. (born 9 August 1958) is a Luxembourger prelate of the Catholic Church, who has served as the Archbishop of Luxembourg since 2011. He has been the president of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European ...
* Cardinal
Dominique Mamberti Dominique François Joseph Mamberti (born 7 March 1952) is the Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura in the Roman Curia. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal by Pope Francis in 2015. Early life and education Dominique Mamberti was born in M ...
* Cardinal
Dominik Duka Dominik Jaroslav Duka O.P. (born 26 April 1943) is a Czech prelate of the Catholic Church who was archbishop of Prague from 2010 to 2022. He was made a cardinal in 2012. He was bishop of Hradec Králové from 1998 to 2010. He was Spiritual Pro ...
* Cardinal
Eduardo Martínez Somalo Eduardo Martínez Somalo (; 31 March 1927 – 10 August 2021) was a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church who spent most of his career in the Roman Curia, first in the Secretariat of State from 1956 to 1975 and from 1979 to 1988, and then l ...
* Cardinal
Antonio María Rouco Varela Antonio María Rouco Varela (born 20 August 1936) is a Spanish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and a prominent member of its conservative wing. He served as Archbishop of Madrid from 1994 to 2014. He was made a cardinal in 1998. Cardinal ...
* Cardinal Carlos Amigo Vallejo * Cardinal
James Michael Harvey James Michael Harvey (born October 20, 1949) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. Trained as a diplomat, he served from 1982 to 1998 in the central administration of the Holy See's Secretariat of State. From 1998 to 2012 Harvey managed ...
* Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk * Cardinal
George Pell George Pell (born 8 June 1941) is an Australian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as the inaugural prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy between 2014 and 2019, and was a member of the Council of Cardinal Advisers between 2013 ...
* Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos * Cardinal Gilberto Agustoni * Cardinal
Fernando Cento Fernando Cento (10 August 1883 – 13 January 1973) was a cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Major Penitentiary of Apostolic Penitentiary. Early life Fernando Cento was born in Pollenza, Italy. His parents were Evaristo Cento and ...
* Cardinal Giovanni Cheli * Cardinal
Anthony Bevilacqua Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua (June 17, 1923 – January 31, 2012) was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania from 1988 to 2003. Bevilacqua previously served as ...
* Cardinal
Zenon Grocholewski Zenon Grocholewski (11 October 1939 – 17 July 2020) was a Polish prelate of the Catholic Church, who was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2001. He joined the Roman Curia in 1972 and served from 1999 until 2015 as Prefect of the Congregation ...
* Cardinal Antonio Innocenti * Cardinal
Arcadio Larraona Saralegui Arcadio María Larraona Saralegui, C.M.F. (13 November 1887 – 7 May 1973) was a Spanish cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Rites from 1962 to 1968, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1 ...
*
Prince Gabriel of Bourbon-Two Sicilies , image = Gabriel de Borbón Franzen.jpg , caption = Portrayed wearing a cavalry uniform of the Spanish Army, c. 1914 , spouse = Princess Malgorzata Izabella Czartoryska Princess Cecylia Lubomirska , issue = Prince An ...
*
Prince Georg of Bavaria Prince Georg of Bavaria (german: Georg Franz Joseph Luitpold Maria Prinz von Bayern; 2 April 1880 – 31 May 1943) was a member of the Bavarian Royal House of Wittelsbach and a Catholic priest. Birth and family Georg was born in Munich, Bava ...
*
Otto von Habsburg Otto von Habsburg (german: Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius, hu, Ferenc József Ottó Róbert Mária Antal Károly Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Lajos Gaetan ...
*
Isabella II of Spain Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successi ...
*
List of titles and honours of Juan Carlos I of Spain A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
*
Eduard, Prince of Anhalt Eduard Julius Ernst August Erdmann, Prince von Anhalt (german: Eduard Julius Ernst August von Anhalt; born 3 December 1941), usually referred to as Prince Eduard, is the head of the House of Ascania, the family which ruled the Duchy of Anhalt unt ...
*
Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz Alfonso, Duke of Anjou, Duke of Cádiz, Grandee of Spain (''Alfonso Jaime Marcelino Manuel Víctor María de Borbón y Dampierre'', French citizen as ''Alphonse de Bourbon''; 20 April 1936 – 30 January 1989) was a grandson of King Alfonso XIII ...
* Letsie III * Antonio Mennini * J. Michael Miller * Gabriel Montalvo Higuera *
Carlos Fitz-James Stuart, 19th Duke of Alba Carlos Fitz-James Stuart y Martínez de Irujo, 19th Duke of Alba, GE (''né'' Martínez de Irujo y Fitz-James Stuart; born 2 October 1948), is a Spanish aristocrat. He is the head of the House of Alba, one of the most prominent families of the ...
*
Guy Stair Sainty Guy Stair Sainty, (born 7 December 1950) is a British art dealer and author on nobility, royal genealogy, and heraldry. Life and education Guy Stair Sainty is the son of Christopher Lawrence Sainty and Virginia Cade Stair, grand-daughter of ...
*
Prince Rupert Loewenstein Rupert, Prince zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg, Count of Loewenstein-ScharffeneckMartin, Douglas (22 May 2014). ''The New York Times. ''Retrieved 27 May 2014Archived here (24 August 1933 – 20 May 2014) was a Spanish-born Bavarian aristoc ...
*
Vincent Nichols Vincent Gerard Nichols (born 8 November 1945) is an English cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, Archbishop of Westminster and President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. He previously served as Archbishop of Birmin ...
* George Stack ;;Dames Grand Crosses of Justice * Infanta Alicia, Duchess of Calabria *
Princess Anne, Duchess of Calabria Princess Anne of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Dowager Duchess of Calabria (''née'' Princess Anne Marguerite Brigitte Marie d'Orléans; born 4 December 1938) is the widow of Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria. She is the third daughter and fifth child of ...
*
Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Princess Beatrice Leopoldine Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (20 April 1884 – 13 July 1966) was a member of the British royal family, a male-line granddaughter of Queen Victoria. She later married into the Spanish royal family, and was t ...
*
Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba María del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, 18th Duchess of Alba GE (28 March 1926 – 20 November 2014) was one of the most senior aristocrats in Spain, as well as the most titled aristocrat in the world, a distinction now held by ...
* Frederica of Hanover *
Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark, ( el, Ειρήνη; born 11 May 1942) is the youngest child and second daughter of Paul of Greece and his wife Queen Frederica. She is the younger sister of Queen Sofía of Spain and of the deposed Const ...
* Princess Isabel Alfonsa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies * Cécile La Grenade *
Leonida Bagration of Mukhrani Leonida Georgievna Romanova, Grand Duchess of Russia ( Russian: Леонида Георгиевна Романова; ''née'' Princess Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Mukhrani ( Georgian: ლეონიდა გიორგის ასული ...
*
Infanta Margarita, Duchess of Soria Infanta Margarita of Spain, Duchess of Soria, 2nd Duchess of Hernani, Grandee of Spain (Margarita María de la Victoria Esperanza Jacoba Felicidad Perpetua de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Borbón; born 6 March 1939), is the younger sister of K ...
* Princess Marie des Neiges of Bourbon-Parma * Princess María de los Dolores of Bourbon-Two Sicilies * Princess María de la Esperanza of Bourbon-Two Sicilies *
Princess Maria di Grazia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies , image = Maria Pia de Bourbon, 1909 (2).jpg , spouse = Prince Luís of Orléans-Braganza(m. 1908; died 1920) , issue = Prince Pedro Henrique Prince Luiz Gastão Princess Pia Maria, Countess of Nicolay , house = B ...
*
Princess Maria Ludwiga Theresia of Bavaria Princess Maria Ludwiga Theresia of Bavaria (6 July 187210 June 1954) was a daughter of the last King of Bavaria, Ludwig III of Bavaria, Ludwig III, and his wife, Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (1849–1919), Maria Theresia of Austria-Este. Her husb ...
*
Princess María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies Princess María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Countess of Barcelona (María de las Mercedes Cristina Genara Isabel Luisa Carolina Victoria y Todos los Santos de Borbón y Orléans ; 23 December 1910 – 2 January 2000) was a Spanis ...
* Princess Michael of Kent * List of titles and honours of Queen Sofía of Spain * Princess Urraca of Bourbon-Two Sicilies *
Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena of Battenberg (24 October 1887 – 15 April 1969) was Queen of Spain as the wife of King Alfonso XIII from their marriage on 31 May 1906 until 14 April 1931, when the Spanish Second Republic was proclaimed. A Hessi ...
;Other or Unknown Classes of Dames *
Princess Maria Adelaide of Savoy-Genoa Princess Adelaide of Savoy-GenoaEnache, Nicolas. ''La Descendance de Marie-Therese de Habsburg''. ICC, Paris, 1996. pp. 189, 195–196, 207–208. (French). ''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser'' XVI. "Haus Bayern". C.A. Starke ...
* Cécile La Grenade *
Leonida Bagration of Mukhrani Leonida Georgievna Romanova, Grand Duchess of Russia ( Russian: Леонида Георгиевна Романова; ''née'' Princess Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Mukhrani ( Georgian: ლეონიდა გიორგის ასული ...
* Marta Linares de Martinelli * Georgina Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk *
María Clemencia Rodríguez Múnera Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, d ...
* Barbara Tuge-Erecińska ;Knights Grand Crosses of Justice *
Prince Adalbert of Bavaria (1886–1970) Prince Adalbert of Bavaria (german: Adalbert Alfons Maria Ascension Antonius Hubertus Joseph omnes sancti Prinz von Bayern) (3 June 1886 – 29 December 1970) was a member of the Bavarian Royal House of Wittelsbach, historian, author and a German ...
* Afonso, Prince of Beira * Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Prince of Venice *
Albert, 12th Prince of Thurn and Taxis , image = Albert TT 2011.jpg , caption = Prince Albert in 2011 , reign = , reign-type = Period , predecessor = Johannes , successor = , suc-type = Heir presumptive , succession = Head of the House of Thurn and Taxis , birth_date = , birth_place ...
*
Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen Archduke Albrecht Friedrich Rudolf Dominik of Austria, Duke of Teschen (3 August 1817 – 18 February 1895), was an Austrian Habsburg general. He was the grandson of Emperor Leopold II and one of the chief military advisors of Emperor Francis ...
* Alexander II of Russia * Infante Alfonso, Duke of Galliera *
Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...
* Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies *
Boris III of Bulgaria Boris III ( bg, Борѝс III ; Boris Treti; 28 August 1943), originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver (Boris Clement Robert Mary Pius Louis Stanislaus Xavier) , was the Tsar of the Kingdom of Bulgaria from 1918 until hi ...
* Agostino Borromeo *
Desmond Connell Desmond Connell (24 March 1926 – 21 February 2017) was an Irish cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church. He was an Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland. Cardinal Connell was one of a number of senior clergy to have been heavily criticised ...
* Timothy M. Dolan *
Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse , spouses = , issue = , house = Hesse-Darmstadt , father = Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine , mother = Princess Alice of the United Kingdom , birth_date = , birth_place = New Palace, Darmstadt, Gra ...
* Prince Eugenio, Duke of Genoa *
Ferdinand I of Bulgaria , image = Zar Ferdinand Bulgarien.jpg , caption = Ferdinand in 1912 , reign = 5 October 1908 – , coronation = , succession = Tsar of Bulgaria , predecessor = Himself as Prince , successor = Boris III , rei ...
*
Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Castro Prince Ferdinand of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, The Duke of Castro (Ferdinando Maria Andrea Alfonso Marcus; 28 May 1926 – 20 March 2008) was a claimant to the headship of the former Royal House of the Two Sicilies. Biography Ferdinand was born ...
*
Matthew Festing Fra' Robert Matthew Festing GCStJ OBE TD DL (30 November 1949 – 12 November 2021) was an English Roman Catholic official who was the Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta from 2008 until his resignation on 28 Ja ...
*
Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...
* Archduke Franz Karl of Austria *
Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen (Friedrich Maria Albrecht Wilhelm Karl; 4 June 1856 – 30 December 1936) was a member of the House of Habsburg and the supreme commander of the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I. Early life Fr ...
* Georg, Duke of Hohenberg * Carlos Gereda y de Borbón *
Jean, Count of Paris Jean Carl Pierre Marie d'Orléans (born 19 May 1965) is the current head of the House of Orléans. Jean is the senior male descendant by primogeniture in the male-line of Louis-Philippe I, King of the French, and thus, according to the Orléani ...
*
List of titles and honours of Juan Carlos I of Spain A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
*
Prince Laurent of Belgium nl, Laurens Benedikt Boudewijn Maria ger, Laurentius Benedikt Balduin Maria , image = Prince Laurent of Belgium (2015 F).jpg , caption = Prince Laurent in 2015 , birth_date = , birth_place = Belvédère Castle, Laeken, Brussel ...
* Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany *
Leopold, Prince of Salerno , title = Prince of Salerno , image = Leopold, Prinz von Neapel-Sizilien.jpg , caption = Portrait by Louis Rene Letronne, 1816 , spouse = , issue = Maria Carolina, Duchess of Aumale , house = Bourbon ...
*
Prince Louis, Count of Trani , title =Count of Trani , image = Prince Louis of the Two Sicilies, Count of Trani circa 1870 (anonymous photographer).jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = , spouse = Duchess Mathilde Ludovika in Bavaria , issue ...
*
Princess Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies it, Maria Antonietta Giuseppa Anna , image = Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies by Morelli 1840.jpg , caption = Maria Antonia in the early 1840s, painted by Carlo Morelli , reign = 7 June 1833 – 21 July 1859 , ...
*
Maria Theresa of Austria (1816–1867) Maria Theresa of Austria (Maria Theresia Isabella; 31 July 1816 – 8 August 1867) was the second wife of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, making her Queen of the Two-Sicilies. She was the eldest daughter of Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen a ...
* Edoardo Menichelli * Klemens von Metternich *
Cormac Murphy-O'Connor Cormac Murphy-O'Connor (24 August 1932 – 1 September 2017) was a British cardinal, the Archbishop of Westminster and president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. He was made cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001. He s ...
* Mario Nasalli Rocca di Corneliano * Christopher de Paus * Pedro II of Brazil * Pedro Carlos of Orléans-Braganza *
Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
*
Géraud Michel de Pierredon Count Géraud Michel de Pierredon (22 April 1916, Magné - 17 November 2006, Magné, Vienne) served as Ambassador of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to France from 1982. Life The son of Count Thierry Michel de Pierredon and Princess Mabel ...
*
Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz Infanta Pilar of Spain, Duchess of Badajoz and Viscountess of La Torre ( Spanish: ''María del Pilar Alfonsa Juana Victoria Luisa Ignacia y Todos los Santos de Borbón y Borbón''; 30 July 1936 – 8 January 2020), sometimes known more simply as ...
*
Giuseppe Pizzardo Giuseppe Pizzardo (13 July 1877 – 1 August 1970) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as prefect of the Congregation for Seminaries and Universities from 1939 to 1968, and secretary of the Holy Office from 1951 to 1959 ...
*
Luigi Poggi is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo' ...
*
Ugo Poletti Ugo Poletti (19 April 1914 – 25 February 1997) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Vicar General of Rome from 1973 to 1991, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1973. Biography Born in Omegna, Poletti studied ...
*
Norberto Rivera Carrera Norberto Rivera Carrera (born 6 June 1942) is a Mexican prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who was archbishop of Mexico City from 1995 to 2017. He was made a cardinal in 1998. He was Bishop of Tehuacán from 1985 to 1995. Early life and mini ...
*
Archduke Rudolf of Austria (1919–2010) Rudolf von Habsburg (5 September 1919 – 15 May 2010) was the sixth child and youngest son of Emperor Charles I of Austria and Zita of Bourbon-Parma. Early life He was born in Prangins, Switzerland, where the former Austrian Imperial family were ...
*
Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria en, Rudolph Francis Charles Joseph , caption = Rudolf in 1887 , spouse = , issue = Elisabeth Marie, Princess Otto of Windisch-Graetz , house = Habsburg-Lorraine , father = Franz Joseph I of Austria , mother ...
* Carlo Emanuele Ruspoli, 3rd Duke of Morignano *
John de Salis, 9th Count de Salis-Soglio John Bernard Philip Humbert de Salis, 9th Count de Salis-Soglio, Switzerland, Soglio, Territorial Decoration, TD, ''John da Buri'', Graf v. Salis-Soglio, (London, 16 November 1947-Cà Buri, Mezzane di Sotto, Veneto, Italy 14 March 2014); Holy ...
* Prince Seeiso of Lesotho * Archduke Stephen of Austria (Palatine of Hungary) * Conrad Swan * Luigi Traglia * Augusto Vargas Alzamora *
Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples , house = Savoy , spouse = , issue = Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice , father = Umberto II of Italy , mother = Princess Marie-José of Belgium , birth_date = , birth_place = Naples, Kingdo ...
*
Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia (russian: Владимир Кириллович Романов; 21 April 1992) was the Head of the Imperial Family of Russia, a position which he claimed from 1938 to his death. Early life Vladimir was bo ...
*
William Albert, 1st Prince of Montenuovo William Albert, 1st Prince of Montenuovo (8 August 18197 April 1895) was an Italians, Italian prince and Feldmarschallleutnant, Field Marshal Lieutenant of the Austrian Empire. Early life Count William Albert of Neipperg was born in 1819 at Parm ...
*
Thomas Winning Thomas Joseph Winning (3 June 1925 – 17 June 2001) was a Scottish Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Glasgow from 1974 and President of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland from 1985 until his death. Winning ...
;Knights Commanders of Justice *
Charles Guthrie, Baron Guthrie of Craigiebank Field Marshal Charles Ronald Llewelyn Guthrie, Baron Guthrie of Craigiebank, (born 17 November 1938) is a retired senior officer of the British Army who served as Chief of the General Staff from 1994 to 1997 and Chief of the Defence Staff from ...
;Knights Grand Crosses of Merit *
Carlos Abascal Carlos María Abascal Carranza (June 14, 1949 – December 2, 2008) was a Mexican lawyer and the Secretary of the Interior in the cabinet of Vicente Fox. He is the son of the writer Salvador Abascal, famous for his synarchist ideas. Biograp ...
*
Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...
* Anthony Bailey (PR advisor) *
John Bruton John Gerard Bruton (born 18 May 1947) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1994 to 1997, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States from 2004 to 2009, Leader of Fine Gael from 1990 to 2001, Leader o ...
*
Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg Charlotte (Charlotte Adelgonde Elisabeth Marie Wilhelmine; 23 January 1896 – 9 July 1985) reigned as Grand Duchess of Luxembourg from 14 January 1919 until her abdication on 12 November 1964. She acceded to the throne on 14 January 1919 fol ...
*
Salvatore Cuffaro Salvatore "Totò" Cuffaro (born 21 February 1958) is a former Italian politician and former President of Sicily. He has served an almost 5-year jail sentence for aiding Cosa Nostra.Erich Feigl * Arnaldo Forlani * Giustino Fortunato (1777–1862) * Elmar Mäder * Joaquín Navarro-Valls * Abel Pacheco *
Gianfranco Ravasi Gianfranco Ravasi (born 18 October 1942) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a biblical scholar. A cardinal since 2010, he was President of the Pontifical Council for Culture from 2007 to 2022. He headed Milan's Ambrosian Librar ...
* Fernando Arêas Rifan *
Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo (born 8 September 1942) is an Argentine prelate of the Catholic Church who was Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences from 1998 to 2022. He was made a bishop in 2 ...
*
José Sarney José Sarney de Araújo Costa (; born José Ribamar Ferreira de Araújo Costa; 24 April 1930) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer, and writer who served as 31st president of Brazil from 1985 to 1990. He briefly served as the 20th vice president of ...
* Charles Savarin * Giovanni Tonucci ;Knights Commanders or Knights of Merit *
Gabriele Albertini Gabriele Albertini (born 6 July 1950 in Milan) is an Italian politician. Biography In 1974 he Graduated in Law from the University of Milan. He was the Manager of ''Albertini Cesare Spa'', a company working in the aluminium pressure die casting ...
* David Alton * Heinrich VII, Prince Reuss of Köstritz * Gino Lupini * Paul Murphy, Baron Murphy of Torfaen * Enrico Salati ;Other or Unknown Classes of Knights * Mark Watson-Gandy *
János Áder János Áder (; born 9 May 1959) is a Hungarian politician and lawyer who served as President of Hungary from 2012 to 2022. He is a long-time politician of the right-wing Fidesz. As a representative of his party, he took part in the Hungarian Ro ...
* Afonso, Prince of Beira * Giulio Andreotti * Bernard Barsi * Matthäus Casimir von Collin * John D. Faris *
Jean, Count of Paris Jean Carl Pierre Marie d'Orléans (born 19 May 1965) is the current head of the House of Orléans. Jean is the senior male descendant by primogeniture in the male-line of Louis-Philippe I, King of the French, and thus, according to the Orléani ...
*
Prince Laurent of Belgium nl, Laurens Benedikt Boudewijn Maria ger, Laurentius Benedikt Balduin Maria , image = Prince Laurent of Belgium (2015 F).jpg , caption = Prince Laurent in 2015 , birth_date = , birth_place = Belvédère Castle, Laeken, Brussel ...
*
Nicholas Liverpool Nicholas Joseph Orville Liverpool (9 September 1934 – 1 June 2015) was a politician and jurist from Dominica who served as the sixth President of Dominica from 2 October 2003 to 17 September 2012. Biography In 1957, Liverpool entered the U ...
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Princess Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies it, Maria Antonietta Giuseppa Anna , image = Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies by Morelli 1840.jpg , caption = Maria Antonia in the early 1840s, painted by Carlo Morelli , reign = 7 June 1833 – 21 July 1859 , ...
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Maria Theresa of Austria (1816–1867) Maria Theresa of Austria (Maria Theresia Isabella; 31 July 1816 – 8 August 1867) was the second wife of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, making her Queen of the Two-Sicilies. She was the eldest daughter of Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen a ...
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Ricardo Martinelli Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal (born March 11, 1951) is a Panamanian politician and businessman who was the 36th president of Panama from 2009 to 2014. Early life Born in Panama City, Ricardo Martinelli is the son of Ricardo Martinell ...
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Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ga, Máire Pádraigín Mhic Ghiolla Íosa; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer and former politician who served as the eighth president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. She is an academic ...
* Vincent McBrierty * Mireya Moscoso * Napoleon II * Abel Pacheco * Nicolae Petrescu-Comnen * Giuseppe Resnati *
Juan Manuel Santos Juan Manuel Santos Calderón (; born 10 August 1951) is a Colombian politician who was the President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. He was the sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. An economist by profession and a journalist by trade ...
;Grand Priors * Cardinal
Gerhard Ludwig Müller Gerhard Ludwig Müller (; born 31 December 1947) is a German cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) from his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 until 2017. He was e ...
* Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos * Cardinal Antonio Innocenti *
Domenico Pignatelli di Belmonte Domenico Pignatelli di Belmonte (19 November 1730 – 5 February 1803) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Biography Prince Don Domenico Pignatelli di Belmonte was born on 19 November 1730 in Naples, Italy, the son of Prin ...
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Renato Martino Renato Raffaele Martino (born 23 November 1932) is an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been a cardinal since 2003. He has been the longest serving cardinal deacon, the cardinal protodeacon, since June 2014. He served for more ...
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Mario Francesco Pompedda Carlo Mario Francesco Pompedda (18 April 1929 – 18 October 2006) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and the Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura for the Roman Curia. He spent nearly fifty years in a variety of posts within th ...
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Albert Vanhoye Albert Vanhoye (; 24 July 1923 – 29 July 2021) was a French priest, a member of the Society of Jesus, and a biblical scholar. He taught at the Pontifical Biblical Institute from 1963 to 1998 and served as its rector from 1984 to 1990. He was ...


See also

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Order of Saint Januarius ) , clasps = , post-nominals = , established = 3 July 1738 , first_award = , last_award = , founder = Charles VII of Naples , head_title = Grand Master , head = Disputed:Prince P ...
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Order of Saint Ferdinand and of Merit The Illustrious Royal Order of Saint Ferdinand and Merit is an order of knighthood of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. It was established on 1 April 1800 by Ferdinand IV of Naples and III Sicily to reward men who performed important deeds an ...
* Order of Saint George and Reunion * Royal Order of Francis I


References


Bibliography

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External links


Hispano-Neapolitan branch website
(Grand Master: Prince Pedro, Duke of Calabria)
Franco-Neapolitan branch website
(Grand Master: Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro)
Sacred Angelic Imperial Constantinian Order of Saint George
(Grand Master: Prince Carlos, Duke of Parma) *
Bourbon-Parma branch's history of the order
(PDF file in Italian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sacred Military Constantinian Order Of Saint George House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies Orders, decorations, and medals of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Catholic orders of chivalry 1540s establishments in Italy