The Order of the White Eagle () was a state order in the Kingdom of Serbia (1883–1918) and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1945).
It continues as a dynastic order, with appointments currently made by Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia.
History King Milan I of Serbia instituted the Order of the White Eagle on 23 January 1883, concurrently with the Order of St. Sava. The Order had five classes and was conferred on Serbian and Yugoslav citizens for achievements in peace or war, or for special merits to the Crown, the state and nation. In the period between 1883 and 1898 Order of the White Eagle was the highest award in the Kingdom of Serbia. In 1898 the Royal Order of Miloš the Great took precedence over the White Eagle and in 1904 the former was replaced by the Order of Karađorđe's Star.
After his accession to the throne in 1903, King Peter I of Serbia continued awarding the Order of the White Eagle, but the reverse of the medallion had the year of the proclamation of the Kingdom (1883) instead of the cipher of Milan I.
The white eagle with wings displayed was re-established as the State Arms of Serbia, symbol descended from the Emperors of Byzantium. The order had a War Merit Division, with crossed swords between the Royal Crown and eagle's heads, that was introduced in 1915, and conferred for conspicuous bravery of the officers in the field.
In 1945, with the end of the monarchy, the order was in effect exiled. Since the end of Yugoslavia, the Royal Order continues to be awarded by Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia, as the senior representative of the Crown. His awards include Angelo de Mojana di Cologna, Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, and posthumous conferment upon three Crown Council Members. On 22 August 2016, Prince Alexander awarded the Grand Cross of the Order to husbands of three princesses of the royal family, Sir George Desmond Lorenz de Silva, a former United Nations War Crimes Prosecutor, Mr Gregory Thune-Larsen, and Mr Austin Prichard-Levy.
Description
The Order of the White Eagle has five degrees, and can be awarded with swords for the military services, with or without swords for civil merit. The Order is organized into five classes:
1st Class – Grand Cross 2nd Class – Grand Officer's Cross 3rd Class – Commander's Cross 4th Class – Officer's Cross 5th Class – Knight's Cross
The sash of the Order is worn from the left shoulder to the right hip.
Recipients
Grand Masters Milan I of Serbia Alexander I of Serbia Peter I of Serbia Alexander I of Yugoslavia Peter II of Yugoslavia Grand Crosses Alois Lexa von Aehrenthal Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen Alexander I of Serbia Alexander of Battenberg Count Kasimir Felix Badeni Andrew Bertie Otto von Bismarck Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy Armand De Ceuninck Desmond de Silva (barrister) Botho zu Eulenburg Charles Granville Fortescue Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria Frederick Francis III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Frederick III, German Emperor George VI Agenor Maria Gołuchowski Prince Henry of Prussia (1862–1929) Higashifushimi Yorihito Konstantin of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi Aleksey Kuropatkin Prince Leopold of Bavaria Archduke Leopold Salvator of Austria Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse Archduke Ludwig Viktor of Austria Milan I of Serbia George Milne, 1st Baron Milne Prince Nicholas of Romania Nicholas I of Montenegro Danail Nikolaev Đurđe Ninković Archduke Otto of Austria (1865–1906) Radomir Putnik Sir William Robertson, 1st Baronet Prince Rudolf of Liechtenstein Andrew Hamilton Russell Edward Rydz-Śmigły Charles Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer Vladimir Sukhomlinov Jan Syrový Nikola Tesla Ernest Troubridge Queen Victoria Illarion Vorontsov-Dashkov Wilhelmina of the Netherlands Sergei Witte August zu Eulenburg Grand Officers Charles James Briggs Sholto Douglas, 1st Baron Douglas of Kirtleside Alexander Godley Jevrem Grujić Dimitrios Ioannou Lyman Lemnitzer Joseph T. McNarney Živojin Bumbaširević Commanders William Wallace Atterbury Herbert Henry Austin Edward Chaytor Cyril Clowes Webb Gillman Talbot Hobbs Ivan Kolev (general) Arthur Laumann Charles Maynard Svetozar T. Nešić Tadeusz Piskor Roman Sondermajer Stepa Stepanović Prince Tomislav of Yugoslavia Bolesław Wieniawa-Długoszowski Officers John Boswell (rugby union) Willy Coppens James Durrant Cecil Foott Gilbert W. M. Green Sir James Horlick, 4th Baronet Sergěj Ingr Carl Jess John Meredith (general) Curt von Morgen Karl von Plettenberg Edward Murray Colston, 2nd Baron Roundway Claude Taylor (rower) Claud Tudor Knights Lionel Gough Arbuthnot Ernest Lucas Guest Aubrey Herbert Richard W. O'Neill Hiraji Cursetji Other or Unknown Classes Paul Émile Appell Léon Bérard Afrikan P. Bogaewsky John Boswell (rugby union) E. T. Burke Charles Edward Callwell Stanislav Čeček Dimitrije Cincar-Marković Travers Clarke Henry Day Anton Denikin Viktor Dousmanis Dragutin Matić Nićifor Dučić John Duncan (British Army officer, born 1872) Alexander Fisher (sound engineer) Archduke Franz Salvator of Austria Helen Losanitch Frothingham Grigore Gafencu Wladimir Giesl von Gieslingen Vivian Green-Armytage Émile Guépratte George Harper Herbert Hoover Isabel Emslie Hutton Elsie Inglis Božidar Janković Antonija Javornik Germanos Karavangelis Henry Keary Vladimir Kokovtsov Alexander Kolchak Georgios Kondylis Francis Lloyd (British Army officer) Herbert Lloyd Douglas MacArthur Compton Mackenzie Rudolf Maister Aleksandar Mašin William Meldrum (general) Draža Mihailović Čedomilj Mijatović Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov Milutin Nedić Ralph Paget Leonidas Paraskevopoulos Peter Patton Mārtiņš Peniķis Milorad Petrović Frederick Alfred Pile Duncan Pirie Alessandro Pirzio Biroli Jovan Ristić Varnava, Serbian Patriarch Ralph Royce Nicolae Samsonovici Humphry Sandwith Maurice Sarrail Ivan Smirnov (aviator) Leonid Solarević Stefan I of Bulgaria Nicolae Titulescu Essad Pasha Toptani Charles Treat Đorđe Vajfert Charles J. Vopicka Maxime Weygand Henry Fuller Maitland Wilson Wilfrid Woods Charles Woollcombe František Zach
References