The Order of Saint Stephen () is an order of chivalry founded in 1764 by Maria Theresa. In 1938, Miklós Horthy took the rights and activities of Grand Master as Regent of Hungary. The name of the Order changed to the Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen (, ). The Order was terminated at the time of the proclamation of the Second Hungarian Republic in 1946. It was recreated in 2011 as the Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen, and to this day remains the highest order in Hungary.

Significance to Hungarians The order is named after Hungary's most famous king, Stephen I, whose reign (997–1038) was marked by his consolidation of the monarchy, the establishment of the medieval state of Hungary, and his adoption of Christianity as the state religion. His coronation, as recognized in the Church, is dated 1001. He died August 15, 1038, during the Feast of the Assumption. His feast day in Hungary is August 20. Canonized by Pope Gregory VII in 1083 along with his son Imre (who preceded him in death in 1031, after a hunting accident) and Bishop Gerhard of Hungary, St. Stephen is the patron saint of "Hungary, kings, the death of children, masons, stonecutters, and bricklayers." Though its exact provenance is somewhat disputed, the Crown of St. Stephen is said to have been a gift from Pope Silvester II, upon Stephen's 1001 coronation.

Creation and qualifications for membership

Empress Maria Theresa and her son, Emperor Joseph II, made several political concessions to ease tensions within their empire—most especially between Austria and Hungary, among them being the creation of the Order. Membership was available to various members of the Hungarian nobility. To receive the Order, according to collector and historian Stephen Herold,

Insignia

Grand Cross For ceremonial purposes, a full set of robes were prescribed, following the tradition of other orders, such as the Austrian and Spanish Orders of the Golden Fleece and Great Britain's Order of the Garter. The robes were crimson and green, and were lined with ermine. A collar of gold was worn about the neck and shoulders, with the badge of the Order suspended from the collar. For normal occasions and every-day wear, a sash of crimson, edged with green, was worn over the right shoulder and extended to the left hip, the distinctive badge of the Order suspended from the sash at the hip. An eight-pointed star was worn on the left breast. During the waning days of the monarchy, especially during the Great War, a less formal option was also authorized, whereby a miniature (a so-called “kleine Decoration”) of the breast star was affixed to the center of the ribbon of an ordinary knight's cross, and was worn on the left breast with other orders and military medals, in order of precedence. Commanders Wore the badge of the Order at the throat, suspended from the crimson edged with green ribbon about the neck. During the Great War, the informal wear of the miniature, gold, Crown of Saint Stephen kleine Decoration was worn on an ordinary knight's cross, to delineate them from ordinary knights and Grand Cross knights, and worn on the left breast with other orders and military medals, in order of precedence. Knights Wore the badge of the Order, suspended from a tri-fold ribbon of crimson, edged in green, on the left breast with other orders and military medals, in order of precedence.

List of members

Grand Masters

Empress Maria Theresa (May 13, 1717 – November 29, 1780), 1764–1780 Emperor Josef II (March 13, 1741 – February 20, 1790), 1780–1790 Emperor Leopold II (May 5, 1747 – March 1, 1792), 1790–1792 Emperor Franz I (II) (12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835), 1792–1835 Emperor Ferdinand I (April 19, 1793 – June 29, 1875), 1835–1848 Emperor Franz Josef I (August 18, 1830 – November 21, 1916), 1848–1916 Emperor Karl I (17 August 1887 – 1 April 1922), 1916–1922; deposed as emperor and king as a result of World War One, but never abdicated; received beatification ("Blessed Charles I") by Pope John Paul II, 2004 Vitéz Miklós Horthy (18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957), 1938–1944 Otto von Habsburg (20 November 1912 – 4 July 2011); stepped down from his role as head of the House of Habsburg in January 2007, in favor of his son Karl. Karl von Habsburg (born 11 January 1961), 2007–present

Order of St. Stephen – Kingdom of Hungary (1764–1918) Knights, Grand Cross Prince Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz ( In Czech: Václav Antonin Kounic; 1711 – 1794), diplomat and foreign policy advisor to Maria Theresa, State Chancellor and Privy Councilor to Josef II Carl Friedrich Hatzfeldt zu Gleichen (September 14, 1718 – September 5, 1793), Austrian statesman; invested with the Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen, May 6, 1764 Prince Anton Esterházy de Galantha (11 April 1738 – 22 January 1794), Captain of the Hungarian Life Guards; also a member of the Order of the Golden Fleece; son of Field Marshal Prince Nicholas ("Miklós" in Hungarian) Esterházy, the primary patron of Joseph Haydn; nephew of Field Marshal Pal II Antal Esterházy Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este (1 June 1754 – 24 December 1806), fourth son of Emperor Franz I Stephen and Empress Maria Theresa; heir presumptive of the Duchy of Modena Archduke Maximilian Franz of Austria (1756–1801), fifth son of Emperor Franz I Stephen and Empress Maria Theresa; Grand Master of the Teutonic Order; Archbishop and Elector of Cologne Albert, Duke of Saxony-Teschen (11 July 1738 – 10 February 1822), husband of Archduchess Maria Christine, son-in-law of Emperor Franz I Stephen and Empress Maria Theresa, and brother-in-law of Emperors Joseph II and Leopold II Field Marshal Karl Josef gróf Batthyany (28. April 1697 – 15. April 1772), Field Marshal of Hungary Samuel von Brukenthal (1721–1803), Governor of Transylvania, personal advisor of Empress Maria Theresa. Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany (May 6, 1769 – June 18, 1824), second son of Emperor Leopold II Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen (September 5, 1771 – April 30, 1847), third son of Emperor Leopold II; Field Marshal of Austria Archduke Alexander Leopold of Austria (August 14, 1772 – July 12, 1795), fourth son of Emperor Leopold II; Palatine/Regent of Hungary Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary (9 March 1776 – 13 January 1847), fifth son of Emperor Leopold II Archduke Johann of Austria (January 20, 1782 – May 11, 1859), sixth son of Emperor Leopold II; Regent of the Duchy of Styria, naturalist, industrialist Archduke Rainer of Austria (30 September 1783 – 16 January 1853), seventh son of Emperor Leopold II; Viceroy of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia Archduke Louis of Austria (13 December 1784 – 21 December 1864), eighth son of Emperor Leopold II; Field Marshal of Austria; head of the State Conference (Regency) for Emperor Ferdinand

Archduke Rudolf of Austria (January 8, 1788 – 24 July 1831), ninth son of Emperor Leopold II; Archbishop of Olomouc; Cardinal in the Catholic Church, from June 4, 1819 Field Marshal Karl Phillip Fürst zu Schwarzenberg (April 18, 1771 – October 15, 1820), Field Marshal of Austria and Commander in Chief of the Army of Bohemia during the Napoleonic Wars. Field Marshal Alfred Fürst zu Windisch-Graetz (May 11, 1787 – March 21, 1862), Field Marshal of Austria and chief commander of Austrian forces during the Hungarian Revolt, 1849 Field Marshal Heinrich Hermann Josef Freiherr von Heß (1788–1870), Field Marshal of Austria and Chief of Staff to Emperor Franz Josef Friedrich Ferdinand graf von Beust (January 13, 1809 – October 24, 1886), Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Saxony; later Privy Councilor to Franz Josef after assisting him in gaining the throne in Hungary; Archduke Albert, Duke of Teschen (August 3, 1817 – February 2, 1895), son of Archduke Charles; Field Marshal of Austria; Governor of Hungary Archduke Franz Karl of Austria (7 December 1802 – 8 March 1878), second son of Emperor Franz I (II) and younger brother of Emperor Ferdinand; Member of the State Conference (Regency) for his older brother, Emperor Ferdinand; father of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria-Hungary and Emperor Maximilian of Mexico

Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich (May 15, 1773 – June 11, 1859), Minister of State, statesman and diplomat Napoleon II of France (March 20, 1811 – July 22, 1832), King of Rome, titular Emperor of the French, and Duke of Reichstadt; son of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte of the French, and his second wife, Archduchess Maria Luisa of Austria Count Alfred Josef Potocki (1817 – May 15, 1889), Member of the Austrian House of Peers and the Galician Diet; Vieceroy of Galicia, Minister-president (prime minister) of Austria, 1870 – 1871 Franjo (Francis) Haller of Hallerkeö (1796–1875), “Ban” (Viceroy) of Croatia, June 16, 1842 – 1845 Count Gyula Andrássy de Csíkszentkirály et Krasznahorka (in Hungarian: csíkszentkirályi és krasznahorkai gróf Andrássy Gyula) (March 3, 1823 – February 18, 1890), Hungarian statesman and diplomat; first constitutional Premier of Hungary Emperor Maximilian of Mexico (July 6, 1832 – June 19, 1867), Archduke of Austria and Prince of Hungary and Bohemia; second son of Archduke Franz Karl; brother of Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria-Hungary Archduke Joseph Karl of Austria (2 March 1833 – 13 June 1905), second son of Archduke Joseph (Palatine of Hungary); General der Kavalrie in the Austro-Hungarian Army (K.u.K.) Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria (30 July 1833 – 19 May 1896), third son of Archduke Franz Karl; brother of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria-Hungary and Emperor Maximilian of Mexico; father of Archduke Franz Ferdinand; grandfather of Emperor Karl I of Austria-Hungary Field Marshal Alexander von Krobatin (1849–1933); Field Marshal of Austria-Hungary Field Marshal Hermann Kövess von Kövessháza (1854–1924); Field Marshal of Austria-Hungary; invested with the Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 26 March 1918 Field Marshal Eduard von Böhm-Ermolli (February 12, 1856 – December 9, 1941), Field Marshal of Austria-Hungary; honorary Army General of Czechoslovakia, 1928; honorary Generalfeldmarschall of Germany, 1938 Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen (4 June 1856, – 30 December 1936), eldest son of Archduke Karl Ferdinand; Field Marshal of Austria and Supreme Commander of the K.u.K. Army; godson and heir of Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen; brother of Field Marshal the Archduke Eugen; invested with the Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 1 May 1894

Kronprinz Rudolf (21 August 1858 – 30 January 1889), Archduke of Austria and Crown Prince of Hungary Archduke Eugen of Austria (May 21, 1863 – December 30, 1954), third and youngest son of Archduke Karl Ferdinand; Field Marshal of Austria-Hungary; invested with the Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St Stephen, 30 March 1911; last Habsburg Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, 1894 – 1923 Archduke Leopold Salvator of Austria (15 October 1863 – 4 September 1931), nephew of Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Colonel-General and Inspector General of Artillery in the Austro-Hungarian (K.u.K.) Army Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este (December 18, 1863 – June 28, 1914), oldest son of Archduke Carl Ludwig; successor of Francis V, Duke of Modena; heir apparent of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria-Hungary; uncle of Emperor Karl I of Austria-Hungary Archduke Otto Franz of Austria (April 21, 1865 – November 1, 1906), second son of Archduke Carl Ludwig; brother of Archduke Franz Ferdinand; father of Emperor Karl I of Austria-Hungary Count István Tisza de Borosjenő et Szeged (22 April 1861 – 31 October 1918), Prime Minister of Hungary, 1903 – 1905, and 1913 – 1917 Generaloberst Friedrich Graf von Beck-Rzikowsky (March 21, 1830 – February 9, 1920), president of the Military Chancery, General Adjutant to the Emperor, and Chief of the General Staff