Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau

Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau Ordre du Lion d'Or de la Maison de Nassau Huisorde van de Gouden Leeuw van Nassau
Plaque, badge and ribbon of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau
Awarded by Grand Duke of Luxembourg Queen of the Netherlands
Type	Luxembourg: National Order Netherlands: House Order
Motto	JE MAINTIENDRAI
Awarded for	Luxembourg: for foreign sovereigns, princes of sovereign houses, and heads of state that displayed meritous service to Luxembourg and the Grand Duke Netherlands: for people who have rendered special service to the Royal House
Status	Currently constituted
Sovereign	Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands His Royal Highness Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg
Chancellor	Henri Ahlborn
Grades (w/ post-nominals)	Knight
Former grades	Knight Grand Cross, Grand Officer, Officer, Knight, Commander
Established	31 March 1858
Precedence
Next (higher)	Luxembourg: None (highest) Netherlands: Order of Orange-Nassau
Next (lower)	Luxembourg: Order of Adolphe of Nassau Netherlands: Order of the House of Orange
Ribbon bar of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau

The Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau (French: Ordre du Lion d'Or de la Maison de Nassau, Dutch: (Huis)orde van de Gouden Leeuw van Nassau) is a chivalric order shared by the two branches (the Ottonian and Walram lines) of the House of Nassau.

In the capacity of the Walram line the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau is the highest Luxembourgian national order, bestowed by the Grand Duke of Luxembourg.^[1] It may be awarded on foreign sovereigns, princes of sovereign houses, and heads of state for meritous service to Luxembourg and the Grand Duke.^[1]

In the capacity of the Ottonian line the order is a house order or dynastic order of the Dutch Royal House of Orange-Nassau, awarded as a personal gift by the Queen of the Netherlands. In this case the honour is conferred on a person who have rendered special service to the Royal House.^[2]

History

1858 – 1892

The order was founded by Grand Ducal decree on 31 March 1858 by King-Grand Duke William III. The honour was to be shared between both branches of the House of Nassau, under agreement between William, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Adolphe, Duke of Nassau and future Grand Duke of Luxembourg.^[1] The order originally included only one grade, but this was increased to four by William III in 1873:

1. Grand Cross
2. Grand Officer
3. Officer
4. Knight

The further (lower) rank of Commander was introduced in 1882.^[1]

1892 – present

None of the changes made by William III was confirmed by Adolphe, with whom the order was supposed to be shared, and Adolphe refused to award any of the new grades.^[1] When William died without a male heir, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg passed to Adolphe, as dictated by the Nassau Family Pact. Two years later, he abolished the grades that William had created unilaterally, and, to this day, the order has maintained just one grade, i.e. that of Knight.^[1] In 1905, Adolphe agreed with Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands to once again share the order between both ruling branches of the House of Nassau.^[1]

At the present Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands as well Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg are joint Grand Master of the Order of the Golden Lion of Nassau.

The order is awarded only on rare occasions in the Netherlands or Luxembourg. For example, the former Dutch Foreign Secretaries Max van der Stoel and Pieter Kooijmans have been made a knight of this order by the Queen of the Netherlands. The two Grand Masters made the South African President Nelson Mandela a knight during his state-visit in 1999 to the Netherlands (see Nelson Mandela awards).

Insignia

Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg and The Grand Duke both wearing the insignia of the order. They are accompanied by Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg

The knight wears the badge on a sash on the right shoulder, and the star of the order on the left chest.

• The badge of the order is a white-enamelled golden Maltese Cross, with the golden monogram "N" between the arms of the cross. The obverse central disc is in blue enamel, bearing the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau. The reverse central disc is also blue enamelled, with the motto "Je maintiendrai" (I will maintain) in gold.
• The plaque is an 8-pointed star with straight silver rays; the same obverse of the badge of the order appears at its centre, surrounded by the motto "Je maintiendrai (I will maintain) in gold letters on white enamel.
• The ribbon of the sash of the order is yellow-orange moiré with a small blue stripe at each edge.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} "Honorary distinctions of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg". Service Information et Presse. http://www.gouvernement.lu/publications/luxembourg/Distinctions_honorifiques/Distinctions_GB_DEF_Internet.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-21. 
2. ^ Orders for services to the Royal House - description at the website of the Dutch Royal House