List of knights grand cross of the Military Order of William

This is a list of knights Grand Cross of the Military Order of William. Established in 1815 by Willem I, it is the oldest and highest honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The order is only awarded for acts of extreme bravery. Yet in the 19th century, the rank of knight grand cross was commonly awarded to foreign monarchs as a mark of respect and diplomacy. It has not been awarded since 1954, yet the Dutch monarch, as sovereign of the order, wears the insignia of knight grand cross.

Willem I Image Name Life Date Country Notes Willem, Prince of Orange 1792–1849 8 July 1815 Later Willem II, King of the Netherlands Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen, Count of Doggerbank 1735–1819 8 July 1815 Jonkheer Jan Willem Janssens 1762–1838 8 July 1815 Leopold, Count of Limburg Stirum 1758–1840 8 July 1815 Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington 1769–1852 8 July 1815 Also Prince of Waterloo in the Dutch nobility Prince Wilhelm of Prussia 1783–1851 8 July 1815 Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Prince of Wahlstatt 1742–1819 8 July 1815 Baron Friedrich Wilhelm of Bülow, Count of Dennewitz 1755–1816 8 July 1815 Count August Neidhardt of Gneisenau 1760–1831 8 July 1815 Prince Christian of Hesse-Darmstadt 1763–1830 3 August 1815 Hesse Baron Karl von Vincent 1757–1834 3 August 1815 Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg Military William Order: Schwarzenberg, Karl Phillip Fürst zu. Retrieved 12 August 2020. 1771–1820 27 August 1815 Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly 1761–1818 27 August 1815 Karl Philipp, Prince of Wrede Military William Order: Wrede, Carl Philipp Joseph Fürst von. Retrieved 6 May 2021. 1767–1838 27 August 1815 Bavaria Wilhelm, Crown Prince of Württemberg 1781–1864 27 August 1815 Württemberg Later Wilhelm I, King of Württemberg Jonkheer Theodorus Frederik van Capellen 1762–1824 20 September 1816 Edward Pellew, 1st Baron Exmouth 1757–1833 20 September 1816 Later 1st Viscount Exmouth Alexander I, Emperor of Russia 1777–1825 19 November 1818 Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich of Russia 1779–1831 19 November 1818 George, Prince Regent of the United Kingdom 1762–1830 27 November 1818 Later George IV, King of the United Kingdom Zeno Willem Anne Lodewijk van Tengnagell 1783–1836 24 May 1821 Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of PrussiaMilitaire Willems-Orde: Preussen, Friederich Wilhelm III von, (in Dutch) 1770–1840 9 July 1821 Cornelis Rudolphus Theodorus, Baron Krayenhoff 1758–1840 12 May 1823 Louis Antoine, Dauphin of France 1775–1844 13 May 1825 France Charles X, King of France and Navarre 1757–1836 13 May 1825 Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia 1796–1855 11 May 1826 Hendrik Merkus, Baron de Kock 1779–1845 25 October 1830 Prince Frederik of the Netherlands 1797–1881 18 August 1831 David Hendrik, Baron Chassé 1765–1849 25 December 1831

Willem II Image Name Life Date Country Notes Friedrich Wilhelm IV, King of PrussiaMilitaire Willems-Orde: Preussen, Friederich Wilhelm IV von, (in Dutch) 1795–1861 9 February 1842 Louis Philippe I, King of the FrenchMilitaire Willems-Orde: Bourbon, Louis Phillip prince de (in Dutch) 1773–1850 22 March 1842 France Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach 1792–1862 8 October 1842 Commander of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia 1798–1849 4 November 1843

Willem III Image Name Life Date Country Notes Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich-Erevansky, Prince of Warsaw 1782–1856 19 April 1849 Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary Military William Order: Franz Joseph I. Retrieved 9 March 2016. 1830–1916 21 June 1849 Frederik VII, King of Denmark 1808–1863 21 June 1849 Oscar I, King of Sweden and Norway 1799–1859 21 June 1849 Sweden-Norway Ernst August, King of HanoverMilitaire Willems-Orde: Ernst August (in Dutch) 1771–1851 3 July 1849 Hanover Alexander II, Emperor of Russia 1818–1881 13 September 1855 Napoléon III, Emperor of the French 1808–1873 13 September 1855 Prince Aleksandr Ivanovich Baryatinsky 1815–1879 19 February 1860 Jan van Swieten 1807–1888 12 May 1874 Albert, King of SaxonyMilitaire Willems-Orde: Sachsen, Friedrich August Albert Anton Ferdinand Joseph Karl Maria Baptist Nepomuk Wilhelm Xaver Georg Fidelis van (in Dutch) 1828–1902 9 July 1878 Saxony Friedrich, German Crown Prince and Crown Prince of PrussiaMilitaire Willems-Orde: Preussen, Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl Prinz von (in Dutch) 1831–1888 23 August 1878 Later Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia 1828–1885 23 August 1878 Alexander III, Emperor of Russia 1845–1894 17 March 1881 Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of PrussiaMilitaire Willems-Orde: Preussen, Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albrecht Prinz von (in Dutch) 1859–1941 8 September 1889 Last awarded for diplomatic purposes

Wilhelmina Image Name Life Date Country Notes Joannes Benedictus van Heutsz 1851–1924 14 March 1903 Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (1904–1909) George VI, King of the United Kingdom 1895–1952 1 July 1946 Franklin D. Roosevelt 1882–1945 15 April 1948 Posthumously awarded

Juliana Image Name Life Date Country Notes Princess Wilhelmina of the Netherlands 1880–1962 4 September 1948 Upon her abdication as Queen of the Netherlands Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia. 1892–1975 3 November 1954

See also List of recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion

References