Order of Charles III.
The order of Charles III. (officially: Real y Distinguida Orden Española de Carlos III ) is an Order of Merit for the Catholic nobility of King Charles III. donated by Spain on September 19, 1771. The occasion is said to have been the birth of the son as Prince of Asturias .
Today it is the highest civil award given in Spain.
Order classes
The order had five classes:
Order decoration
The blue-enameled eight-pointed St. John's Cross is separated from the white-edged part with a gold line. The outer edge has a golden edge and golden balls are attached to all cross points. A golden lily is set in each of the cross corners . On the cross there is an oval as a medallion , bordered in blue, the front of which is enamelled in golden yellow and the Virgin Mary stands on a lying crescent moon. The reverse shows the name of Karl III. and a laurel wreath surrounds the structure with the motto of the order “Virtuti et merito” .
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Ribbon
A white band with a blue border on each side is carried from the right shoulder to the left on Grand Cruisers. A silver medal star with a silver central shield, like that of the medal, on the left side of the chest belongs to this class. The first class commanders also wear it. The knights wear the award in their buttonhole. Commanders put the medal on as a neck medal.
Order clothing
The clothes to be worn for the ceremony were a skirt and a coat studded with silver stars, both made of light blue silk. The skirt had blue and white fringes. The belt was blue and white. Black shoes and silky white stockings and a hat adorned with a plume were part of it. Depending on the class, the plume was blue or white.
particularities
On special occasions, a gold medal chain for large crosses is worn around the neck. The limbs alternate between a striding lion , a wall tower and a sign of war.
The order was renewed by King Charles IV in 1804. In 1808 the order was canceled by King Joseph Napoleon . King Ferdinand VII activated this order again in 1814.
A fee had to be paid by them when new carriers were accepted. That was class dependent.
The order was not allowed to be created together with the order of the Golden Fleece .
literature
- ↑ a b Order of Charles 2) . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . 4th edition. Volume 9, Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1885–1892, pp. 543–543.
