Order of Prince Ludwig Gaston of Saxe-Coburg and Braganza
| Order of Prince Ludwig Gaston of Saxe-Coburg and Braganza | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Awarded by the King of Ebenthal | |
| Type | National order |
| Established | 23 January 2022 |
| Motto | A Ducibus ad Imperatores una familia, multae domus |
| Awarded for | At His Majesty's pleasure. |
| Status | Currently constituted |
| Sovereign and Grand Master | King Arthur II |
| Deputy Grand Master | Heitor, Prince of Altenburg |
| King of Arms, Register and Secretary | Raphael Sousa, 1st Duke of Sternachten |
| Grades | Knight/Dame |
| Post-nominals | SCB |
| Statistics | |
| First induction | 5 July 2022 |
| Total inductees | 19 |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | None (highest) |
| Next (lower) | Order of the Cross of Saint James |
 Ribbon bar of the Order | |
The Most Serene Order of Prince Ludwig Gaston of Saxe-Coburg and Braganza (Portuguese: Sereníssima Ordem do Príncipe Luís Gastão de Saxe-Coburg e Bragança), known simply as Order of Prince Ludwig or Order of Saxe, is the highest and most senior national order of the Kingdom of Ebenthal. It was established in honor of the 80th anniversary of the death of the Brazilian Prince Ludwig Gaston of Saxe-Coburg and Braganza, owner and resident of the Castle of Ebenthal, Austria, which is why the country was named Ebenthal.
The order is the highest honor in the Ebenthal honors system, having assumed the position previously held by the Order of the Silver Cat and Order of Pedro II. Appointments are at the sovereign's sole discretion, and are usually in recognition of a national contribution, for public service, or for personal service to the sovereign. Membership of the order is unlimited and supernumerary.
The order's emblem is a black enameled 7-pointed cross over an emerald circle encircling Ebenthal's lesser arms. Between the points of the cross, silver fleurs de lis studded with diamonds, on the emerald circle, seven minor arms of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Braganza. Its Latin motto is "A Ducibus ad Imperatores una familia, multae domus" (From Dukes to Emperors, one family, many houses).
History
From mid-2021 onwards, King Arthur II decided to start a process of nationalization and strengthening of the culture of Ebenthal, to that end, untying the image and particular history of his family that was exaggeratedly associated with the country since his accession to the throne as a way of solidifying your position. Regarding the honorary orders of chivalry, the King decided to create new national orders, as opposed to the dynastic orders, making direct reference to Ebenthal, and not to the current Royal Family.
It was the King's wish, since 2020, to pay tribute to Prince Ludwig Gaston of Saxe-Coburg and Braganza, whose biography was one of the main inspirations in the founding of Ebenthal, but timing and lack of creativity delayed the plans for a long time until the creation of the Luso-Germanic Cultural Commission which, upon becoming aware of the monarch's will, encouraged him. So did the Rashtradhyaksh of Vishwamitra, a big fan of decorations; during a conversation in which King Arthur II expressed his desire to create a new order but his fear of having too many orders and difficulty in organizing them.
Finally decided on the creation of the order in December 2021, Arthur II began to study models of dormant orders to base his project. He ended up, however, basing the order's design on Karnia-Ruthenia's Order of Maurice de Saxe. The Order of Ludwig Gaston of Saxe-Coburg and Braganza was officially created by decree on 23 January 2022, the 80th anniversary of the prince's death.
Composition
Members
Membership in the order is unlimited and it includes the Monarch and the Prince of Altenburg respectively as Sovereign and Grand Master and Deputy Grand Master. The Monarch alone can grant membership at his own pleasure, meaning it has no requirements for a person to be inducted a member of the order. Monarchs are known as Sovereign of Saxe-Coburg and Braganza and the Prince of Altenburg is known as Royal Knight Compainion of Saxe-Coburg and Braganza. Male members of the Order are titled "Knights Companion" and female members are called "Ladies Companion".
Supernumerary members
In addition, the Order of Ludwig Gaston includes supernumerary members, who do not count towards the list of regular members. Supernumerary members enjoy of the same title and precedence as any regular member and are usually members of the Ebenthali Royal Family, but also members of related royal families (such as the Harranian Sultanic Family). The supernumerarity principle was inspired by the British Order of the Garter's. It was firstly instituted in the dormant Order of Pedro II and later incorpored to the Order of Prince Ludwig Gaston. According to the Royal House Rules, only the highest national honorary order can adhere to the principle of supernumerary.
Grades
The King of Ebenthal is the Sovereign and Grand Master of the order. All deeds granting decorations of the Order must bear the signature of the Sovereign and Grand Master. The Deputy Grand Master is empowered to act on behalf of and in place of the monarch if necessary and with the express approval of the monarch; if the monarch is unable to give his consent, it is up to the parliament to sanction the acts of the Deputy Grand Master. As Ebenthal's highest honor, the Order of Prince Ludiwg Gaston exclusively has a King of Arms, who also acts as Register and Secretary, responsible for conferring armorial bearings and register the members of the order in its annals. Members of the order are granted a certificate and are eligible to require a personal coat of arms with the insignia of the Order. A single-graded order, its only ranking is that of Knight/Dame.
Precedence and privileges
Members of this order are assigned positions in the order of precedence, ranking above all others members of equal rankings of whichever orders. Consorts, children and children-in-law also feature on the order of precedence; other relatives of members, however, are not assigned any special precedence. Generally, individuals can derive precedence from their parents or consorts as long as the recipient lives.
All members ot the order are entitled to the prefixes of "Sir" and "Ma'am". When an individual is entitled to use multiple post-nominal letters, the ones of the order (SCB, stranding for Saxe-Coburg and Braganza, for both Knights and Dames) takes precedence. All recipients may encircle their arms with the circlet of the order.
Since the approval of Law No. 4/2020 on 24 February 2020, all members of the order disposes from the same right entitled to parliamentaries and ministries to require a formal privy audience with the Monarch, a privilege enjoyed firstly by the members of the dormant Order of the Silver Cat and the Order of Pedro II.
Investiture and installation
When any new members of the Order of Prince Ludwig Gaston are due for installation, an investiture ceremony is due to be held in the Throne Room of the Bubbington Palace and to be attended by all members of the order wearing its collar, sash and badge on which two senion knights of the order assist the Sovereign by placing the collar of the order around the neck of the new knight and in the fastening of the riband about the body of the new knight and in the adjustment of the mantle. Nonetheless, due to the factual impossibility of this realization (for many different reasons), the investiture happens in a much more modest way through the conferring of a letter-patent accompanied by a letter from the King and an owath to be sworn by the new members. The new members have in turn to sent the King a signed letter confirming that they sworn the oath to the order in order for their appointment to be regularized at the Royal Office of Nobility and Knighthood.
Insignia and habit
- The collar of the Order consists of 14 gold plates with rococo details of clover points, each plate separated by a stone with 2 green and 4 yellow stripes made of emerald and topaz surrounded by a circle decorated with rays of light made of gold.
- The badge and star of the Order consists of a seven-pointed golden-bordered dark star, a dark green circle carrying seven blasons of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Braganza, the Ebenthali coat of arms in a circle shape.
- The ribbon of the Order consists of three black and three yellow vertical stripes.
| Insignia | |||
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| Collar of the Knights | Riband | Badge/Star | |
Members of the order
Officers
| Name | Designation | Period |
|---|---|---|
 His Majesty Arthur II, King of Ebenthal
|
Sovereign | 23 January 2022 – present |
| His Majesty Arthur II, King of Ebenthal
|
Grand Master | 23 January 2022 – present |
 His Royal Highness Heitor, Prince of Altenburg
|
Deputy Grand Master | 23 January 2022 – present |
 The Most Dignified Raphael Sousa, 1st Duke of Sternachten
|
King of Arms | 3 July 2022 – present |
| The Most Dignified Raphael Sousa, 1st Duke of Sternachten
|
Register | 3 July 2022 – present |
| The Most Dignified Raphael Sousa, 1st Duke of Sternachten
|
Secretary | 3 July 2022 – present |
Knights and Dames
See also
Notes
- ↑ Revoked on 20 November 2022.
References
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