The Order of Leopold (, , ) is one of the three current Belgian national honorary orders of knighthood. It is the oldest and highest order of Belgium and is named in honour of its founder, King Leopold I. It consists of a military, a maritime and a civil division. The maritime division is only awarded to personnel of the merchant navy, and the military division to military personnel. The decoration was established on 11 July 1832 and is awarded by Royal decree.
History When Belgium became independent of the Netherlands, there was an urgent need to create a national honour system that could serve as a diplomatic gift. The national congress provided this exclusive right to the sovereign, this military honour system was written in Article 76.Le livre d'or de l'ordre de Léopold et de la croix de fer, Volume 1/ Ferdinand Veldekens Lelong, 1858 pag. 137 The first King of the Belgians, Leopold I of Belgium, used his constitutional right in a larger way than foreseen: not only military merit, but every service in honour of the Kingdom. Two years after the independence, the young King officially founded the dynastic Order of Leopold. The king approved the colour and grades both civil and military, and the official motto L'Union fait la Force/Eendracht maakt Macht. In 1832 Felix de Merode had a design approved by the Chambers for military and civil merit. This system was adapted from other European countries. More specific, the Order of Leopold is based on the French honour tradition with 5 classes. On the 11th of June 1832 the law was promulgated, and the exact colours were defined; Article 2: "Le ruban sera ponceau moiré". The devise was presented in the 3rd article: L'union fait la Force.
Wedding gifts Wedding Gifts,Order of Leopold.Albert I; Museum Dynasticum N° .21: 2009/ n° 2.1832Wedding of Leopold I and Marie Louise1853Wedding Leopold II and Marie-Henriette1857Wedding of Charlotte and Maximilian of Austria1867Wedding Count of Flanders and Marie of Hohenzollern1881Wedding of Stephanie and Rudolf of Austria 1900Wedding of Prince Albert and Elisabeth in Bavaria Grand Cordons 193102015 Grand Officers/14476 Commanders537101910 Officers6368193 Knights43263020Total161922389554 The Belgian court often used the Grand Cordon as a valuable diplomatic gift. However, in the 2nd half of the 19th century, the court also used it as a dynastic order to bestow on family members during major family celebrations. The founder gave his French family Grand Cordons as wedding gifts. During weddings the Belgian court sent large numbers of crosses to the new family and its court. For the wedding of Rudolf and Stephanie the father of the bride sent 20 Grand Cordons to the Austrian Court. In return the Belgian court received decorations; these gifts were part of negotiations of the wedding. The order was bestowed by King Leopold II on Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern and Ernst Gunther, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein as a personal marriage gift. In 1878 the King named several diplomatic dignitaries Grand Cordon in honour of his silver wedding celebration, among them Vannutelli.Handelsblad (Het) 28-08-1878
In 1900 the occasion of the wedding of Prince Albert was used to send 15 Grand Cordons to the Bavarian Court. Among the recipients were Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria and his two sons, Princes Ludwig (the future Ludwig III of Bavaria) and Arnulf, Duke Louis of Bavaria and the father of the bride Karl Theodor, Duke in Bavaria.
The brother of the new Princess, Duke Ludwig Wilhelm was still a minor at the time of the wedding, and Minister de Favereau opposed this wedding gift for an adolescent. However, the young prince, aged 14, received the gift by royal decree.
Others People who fought in the Belgian revolution became members in great numbers. In 1836 Giacomo Meyerbeer was made a knight of the Order by royal command, as a "particular mark of esteem" for someone who had distinguished themselves in the arts.Indépendance Belge (L') 16-09-1836 In 1838 the King lost his right to create members, which was from then on the responsibility of the foreign office. By the end of Leopold's reign the major political elite were members of the order.
King Leopold II bestowed the order upon notable Belgian artists, generals and clergy. His successors continued to bestow the Order; among the thousands of recipients are some famous people like Porfirio Díaz, Pope Leo XIII,granted in 1846, when Apostolic Nuncio in Belgium Mohamed Ennaceur, Pierre-Jean De Smet, Eugène Scribe, Alfred Belpaire, Victor Horta, Joseph Geefs, Gustave Van de Woestijne, Raymond Poincaré, Constant Permeke, Henry Morton Stanley, Lu Zhengxiang, Amschel Mayer Rothschild, Emile Claus, Fernand Khnopff, Paul Saintenoy, Joseph Jongen, Eugène Ysaÿe, Alfred Bastien, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Antonio López de Santa Anna, Thomas Vinçotte, Mgr. Rafael Merry del Val, John Browning, James Blyth, 1st Baron Blyth, Brand Whitlock, Charles Lindbergh, George S. Patton, Bernard Montgomery, Dwight Eisenhower, Wesley Clark, Charles de Gaulle, Mstislav Rostropovich, Count Kiyoura Keigo, Count Jacques Rogge, Prince Fulco Ruffo di Calabria and Prince Emmanuel de Merode. At the end of World War I, the order became internationally recognised for its famous members.
In 1919 King Albert granted all Lieutenant-Generals of the Belgian Army the Grand Cordon in Brussels. The King bestowed the Major Generals with the Grand Cordon, amongst the recipients some important generals like baron Honoré Drubbel, Alphonse Jacques de Dixmude, knight Antonin de Selliers de Moranville and Baron Édouard Michel du Faing d'Aigremont. Foreign recipients include admiral Hugh Rodman and Vice Admiral William Sowden Sims One of the rare Ladies in the order was Countess Renée de Merode.
The order can be bestowed posthumously; for example, Emile Verhaeren received the Grand Cordon after his death. Recipients can be deprived of the order, as for example happened during World War I with Alfred Wotquenne.
After the Second World War, the Order of Leopold was bestowed on the several officers of foreign military forces who had helped to liberate Belgium from German occupation. Most illustrious was the grand Cordons with Palms given by the King to Sir Winston Churchill and Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1945. The medal was also granted to Karel Bossart in 1962, and Josip Broz Tito in 1970.
Today membership can only be granted by decree of His Majesty King Philippe of the Belgians and is reserved to the very most important Belgian nationals and to some distinguished foreign persons who contributed in one way to the Belgian military, the Belgian civil society or the Belgian State. Annually, there are two major days when the king normally grants membership, 15 April (King Philip's birthday) and 15 November (Day of the Belgian Dynasty).
During state visits, the Order of Leopold is the most important diplomatic gift of the state. In 2015 some protest was noted when King Philippe offered the Grand Cordon to President Erdoğan of Turkey during his state visit in Belgium. A parliamentary question was consequently submitted by Barbara Pas.
In 2022, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo presented honorary distinctions on behalf of the Belgian state at Belgium's Consulate General in New York. The Belgians honored were scientist and President of the Children's Tumor Foundation Annette Bakker (Officer of the Order of Leopold), businessman and former CEO of AB InBev Carlos Brito (Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown), banker Georges Ugeux (Commander of the Order of the Crown), psychiatrist Esther Perel (Knight of the Order of the Crown), and artist Marie-Paule Martin (Knight of the Order of Leopold).
Classes The Order of Leopold is issued in five classes: Grand Cordon ('Grand Cordon/Grootlint'), who wears the badge on a collar (chain) or on a sash on the right shoulder, plus the star on the left side of the chest; Grand Officer ('Grand Officier/Grootofficier'), who wears a badge on a necklace, plus a star on the left side of the chest (created on 31 December 1838); Commander ('Commandeur'), who wears the badge on a necklace; Officer ('Officier'), who wears the badge on a ribbon with rosette on the left side of the chest; Knight ('Chevalier/Ridder'), who wears the badge on a ribbon on the left side of the chest.
All five classes come in three divisions (civil, military, maritime). No membership can be granted to a person before the age of 42, except in the military division.
Only the Belgian king is entitled to chair the order and to be named Grand Master ('Grand Maître/Grootmeester').
Grand Cordon The Grand Cordon title is reserved in general for other monarchs, heirs, foreign heads of state, generals, Cardinals, ministers of state, Prime Ministers and high diplomats. The Belgian Court has granted the Grand Cordon to all of its family members often considered a personal marriage gift of the king.
The court has sent grand cordons to other dignitaries like ambassadors, cardinals, important artists and high functionaries. As of the class of commander the decision must be approved by the Council of Ministers.
Following the tradition, it is not allowed that a Belgian minister can accept this gift from the King, during the period of public office.Eric Tripnaux/ Tripnaux E., L'Origine de l'Ordre de Léopold Association of the Order of Leopold: 2008
Insignia The collar of the order is in gold, with nine crowns, nine face-to-face monograms "LR" (for "Leopoldus Rex" for King Leopold I), and eighteen lions.
The badge of the order is a white-enameled Maltese Cross, in silver for the Knight class and in gold for the higher classes, with a green-enameled wreath of laurel and oak leaves between the arms of the cross. The obverse central disc features a lion on a black enamel background; the reverse central disc has the face-to-face monogram "LR" (for King Leopold I); both discs are surrounded by a red enamel ring with the motto "Unity Is Strength" in French (L'union fait la force) and in Dutch (Eendracht maakt macht). The cross is topped by a crown, which might have crossed swords (military division) or anchors (maritime division) underneath it. The civil division has neither swords nor anchors.
The plaque of the order is an eight-pointed faceted silver star for the Grand Cordon class, and a silver faceted Maltese Cross with straight rays between the arms for the Grand Officer class. The central disc has a lion on a black enamel background, surrounded by a red enamel ring with the motto as on the badge. Golden crossed swords or anchors might be added behind the medallion, depending on division.
The ribbon of the order is usually plain purple. However, if the order is awarded in special circumstances, the ribbon of the Officer and Knight classes show the following variations: Crossed swords are added to the ribbon when awarded in wartime (if the order was awarded during the Second World War or during the Korean War, a small bar is added to the ribbon mentioning the name of the war); The ribbon has a vertical gold border on both sides when awarded for a special act of valour at war; The ribbon has a central vertical gold stripe when awarded for an exceptionally meritorious act in wartime; A silver star is added to the ribbon when awarded for meritorious acts of charity; A gold star is added to the ribbon when the recipient has been mentioned in dispatches at the national level; Silver or gold palms are added to the ribbon when awarded in wartime to military personnel. Stars and borders or stripes can be awarded together, but these deviations are currently only rarely awarded. The colour of the ribbon has varied during the nineteenth century from red to purple.
The ribbon bar of the order, which is worn on the semi-formal dress uniform is:
Ribbon barsGrand CordonGrand OfficerCommanderOfficerKnight
Since 1921, insignias of the order not awarded in wartime have to be purchased by the recipient.