The Royal Order of Francis I (properly 'The Royal Order of

Francis I of the Two Sicilies Francis I of the Two Sicilies (; 19 August 1777 – 8 November 1830) was King of the Two Sicilies from 1825 to 1830 and regent of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1806 to 1814. Early life Francis was born the son of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicili ...

' ) was an extinct order of merit of the former

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by popula ...

which was annexed in 1861 by the King of Italy (until 1860 King of Piedmont and Sardinia). It has been revived by

Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro Prince Carlo of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Castro (born 24 February 1963) is one of two claimants to the headship of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Early life Prince Carlo was born in Saint-Raphaël, Var, France, the only son of Prin ...

, as an award for services to charity and inter-religious understanding and includes a number of non-Roman Catholic statesmen and stateswomen among its membership.

History

The Royal Order of Francis I was founded on 28 September 1829 as an award of civil merit in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies for distinction in public service, science, the arts, agriculture, industry and commerce. Although the order was a State Order and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ceased to exist in 1860, the Order continued to be awarded by the exiled King Francis II and his brother and successor

Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta (28 March 1841 – 26 May 1934) was the third son of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies and Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria. He was pretender to the throne of the Two Sicilies in succession of his older half-b ...

, although the latter did so for the last time in 1920, since they were still claiming all the prerogatives of the crown. His successor as head of the Dynasty,

Prince Ferdinand Pius, Duke of Calabria Prince Ferdinand Pius (''Ferdinando Pio Maria''), Duke of Calabria and Castro (25 July 1869, Rome – 7 January 1960, Lindau), was head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and pretender to the throne of the extinct Kingdom of the Two Sicilies from ...

who was head of the family from 1934-1960 accepted the de facto existence of the Italian State and abandoned an active pretension to the throne, considering the order to be abeyance. The latter's nephew,

Infante Alfonso, Duke of Calabria Infante Alfonso of Spain, Prince of the Two Sicilies, Duke of Calabria (30 November 1901 – 3 February 1964) was one of two claimants to the title of the head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies from 1960 until his death in 1964. He was the son ...

, and great-nephew

Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria '' Don'' Carlos María Alfonso Marcelo de Borbón-Dos Sicilias y Borbón-Parma, Infante of Spain, Duke of Calabria (16 January 1938 – 5 October 2015) was, at his death, the last male infante of Spain during the reigns of his cousins King Ju ...

continued this policy, as has the latter's son and heir.

, much like his father, Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Castro, head of the line of the family descended from

Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro Prince Ranieri Maria Gaetano, Duke of Castro (3 December 1883 – 13 January 1973) was a claimant to the headship of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Biography He was born in Cannes, France, the ninth child but fifth son of Prince Alfonso, Coun ...

has claimed the title and right of Grand Master and bestowed the order.

Notable recipients

;Dames Grand Cross *

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Princess Elena of Romania Princess Elena of Romania (born 15 November 1950) is the second-eldest daughter of King Michael I and Queen Anne of Romania. Elena is first in the line of succession to the former Romanian throne and headship of the House of Romania as her e ...

(29 July 2012) *

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(July 2011) *

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(14 November 2003) ;Knights Grand Cross *

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(2014) *

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George Carey George Leonard Carey, Baron Carey of Clifton (born 13 November 1935) is a retired Anglican bishop who was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002, having previously been the Bishop of Bath and Wells. During his time as archbishop the C ...

(2009) *

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* Mor Athanasius Touma Dawod *

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Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand II (; ; ; 12 January 1810 – 22 May 1859) was King of the Two Sicilies from 1830 until his death in 1859. Family Ferdinand was born in Palermo to King Francis I of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Maria Isabella of Spain. ...

* Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Castro *

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* Gregorios Theocharous *

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* Gilbert Monckton, 2nd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley *

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Sigmund Sternberg Sir Sigmund Sternberg (; 2 June 1921 – 18 October 2016) was a Hungarian-British philanthropist, interfaith campaigner, businessman and Labour Party donor. Early life Sternberg was born in 1921 in Budapest, Hungary. He was Jewish. He emigrat ...

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(2006) * Duke William of Württemberg *

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(November 2014) *

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(2004) ;Dames Commander ;Knights Commander *

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* Robert Murel Clark, Jr. * Joseph MacNeal Crews *

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* Matthew D. Dupee *

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* Bandar bin Khalid Al Faisal * Robert Todd Giffin *

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* Sione Ngongo Kioa *

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* H.E. Georgios Olympios * Aristomenis Exadaktylos ;Knights or Dames * Richard L. Cosnotti ;Unknown Classes *

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Vincenzo Tineo Vincenzo Tineo ( Militello in Val di Catania, 27 February 1791 – Palermo, 25 July 1856) was an Italian Botanist. From 1814 to 1856 he was the director of the Palermo Botanical Garden. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation wh ...

Grades

The Order is now divided into five grades (the modern revival has allowed the award to women): * Knight Grand Cross, with cross suspended from sash/cordon and star * Dame Grand Cross, with cross suspended from breast bow edged in gold and covered with

fleurs-de-lis The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the ( stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis ...

and star * Knight Grand Officer, with cross suspended from neck ribbon and star * Dame Grand Officer, with cross suspended from breast bow edged in gold and star * Knight Commander, with cross suspended from neck ribbon * Dame Commander, with cross suspended from breast bow edged in gold * Knight Officer, with cross suspended from breast drape ribbon * Dame Officer, with cross suspended from breast bow * Knight First Class, with cross suspended from breast drape ribbon * Dame First Class, with cross suspended from breast bow

History

Notable recipients

Grades

See also