The Order of Beneficence () is an

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

which was established in 1975 by law no.106/1975, using the same name and same insignia as that of the order instituted in the previous governance of the

Kingdom of Greece The Kingdom of Greece (, Romanization, romanized: ''Vasíleion tis Elládos'', pronounced ) was the Greece, Greek Nation state, nation-state established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally ...

, although a separate order with different statutes. It is conferred by the

President of the Republic The President of the Republic is a title used for heads of state and/or heads of government in countries having republican form of government. Designation In most cases the president of a republic is elected, either: * by direct universal s ...

as a moral reward for women especially, Greek or foreigner who have contributed good services to the country. The fact that the order is awarded to women does mean that the other Greek decorations are awarded exclusively to men. The order has three symbols: a "badge", a "star", and a "ribbon". The badge is a five-petaled flower, enameled in blue. The star is a silver eight-pointed star with straight rays. The ribbon is an orange ribbon with blue edges.

Grades

The Order has five classes: *Grand Cross - wears the badge on a sash from the right shoulder, plus the star on the left chest; *Grand Commander - wears the badge on a bow, plus the star on the right chest; *Commander - wears the badge on a bow; *Gold Cross - wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest; *Silver Cross - wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest.

Recipients

Grand Cross

* : Queen Mary * : Princess Marie * : Grand Duchess Maria Teresa

Insignia

The ''badge'' of the Order is a five tipped blue-enamelled flower, in silver (or silvered) for the Silver Cross class, in gold (or goldened) for the higher classes. The overall design is clearly derived from the then-recently abolished British

Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire, ...

. There are four versions of the badge : * The first was awarded from 1948 to 1973. It is surmounted by a royal crown and features a reverse medallion with the cypher of King George II. * The second and third versions were awarded from 1975 to 1984. These versions do not have a surmounting crown and feature reverse medallions without an inscription, or with the initials “ED” (the first letters to “Greek Republic”). * The fourth version has neither a crown but features a reverse medallion with the national coat of arms and “Greek Republic” in full. All four versions feature an obverse central disc bearing a portrait of the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' ( Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are or (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are "Mother of God" or "God-beare ...

with the Divine Child in Her arms with the legend "ΕΥΠΟΙΙΑ" («Beneficence») on a white enamel ring. The ''star'' of the Order is a silver eight-pointed star with straight rays, with the same central disc as the obverse of the badge. There may be other slight differences of the badge or the star depending on the manufacturer. The ''ribbon'' of the Order is orange with blue edges.

Royal Order

The Royal Order of Beneficence () is an

order of knighthood An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is a society, fellowship and college of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades ( 1099–1291) and pai ...

of the

Greek Royal Family The Greek royal family () was the ruling family of the Kingdom of Greece from 1863 to 1924 and again from 1935 to 1973. The Greek royal family is a branch of the Danish royal family, itself a cadet branch of the House of Glücksburg. The famil ...

that was established in 1948 by King Pavlos I, following the death of King George II of Greece, in accordance with his wishes. It is conferred by the Head of the Royal House of Greece as a dynastic Decoration for women especially,

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

foreign Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United S ...

, for the good services they have rendered to the

Fatherland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic nation ...

in the field of

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

as well as for their performance in the

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

s and letters. After the abolition of the

and its replacement by the

Third Hellenic Republic The Third Hellenic Republic () is the period in modern Greek history that stretches from 1974, with the fall of the Greek military junta and the final confirmation of the abolition of the Greek monarchy, to the present day. It is considered ...

, all orders and decorations of knighthood were disbanded as state orders (although retained as dynastic

house order A dynastic order, monarchical order, or house order is an honorific distinction under royal patronage. This type of order is bestowed by a reigning sovereign or by the head of a formerly ruling family, recognized as a legitimate source of hono ...

s by the Greek Royal Family) and replaced by republican versions of the orders of knighthood, including this order which is currently awarded by the two entities but as separate orders with their own statutes.

Grades of the Royal Order

The Order has five grades: *Dame Grand Cross - wears the badge on a sash from the right shoulder, plus the star on the left chest; *Dame Grand Officer - wears the badge on a bow, plus the star on the right chest; *Dame Commander - wears the badge on an elongated ribbon bow (day and evening dress) and wears a

necklet A necklet is a type of state decoration, decoration which is designed to be worn and displayed around a person's neck, rather than hung (draped) from the chest as is the standard practice for displaying most decorations. In the Middle Ages most ...

(uniform) *Dame Officer - wears the badge suspended on a ribbon bow on the left chest; *Dame - wears a smaller badge suspended on a ribbon bow on the left chest.

Recipients

Dames Grand Cross

* : Queen Margarita * : Princess Farida Zulficar * : Princess Muna Gardiner * : Princess Georgina * :

Princess Grace Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from Wedding of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and Grace Kelly, th ...

* : Queen Sirikit, Queen Mother