Most orders created since the late 17th century were no longer societies and fellowships of
knights •
Sovereign Military Order of Malta, one of the original
military orders, founded as the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in 1048, sanctioned by
Pope Paschal II on 15 February 1113. •
Alliance of the Orders of Saint John of Jerusalem, the federation of the Protestant Hospitaller Orders. •
Order of Saint John (chartered 1888) •
Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg) •
Order of Saint John in Sweden •
Order of Saint John in the Netherlands •
Teutonic Order, a Catholic religious order founded as a military order in 1190 in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. •
Order of Aviz founded by
Afonso I of Portugal in 1146 •
Order of Calatrava founded by
St. Raymond of Fitero (
Spain) in 1164. • Order of Colm Cille. Founded in the 17th century in Co. Mayo, Ireland •
Order of Alcantara founded by
Ferdinand II of León (
Spain) in 1167. •
Order of Santiago founded
Ferdinand II of León (
Spain) in 1170. •
Order of Saint James of the Sword founded by
Afonso I of Portugal in 1172. •
Order of Montesa founded by
James II of Aragon (
Spain) in 1317. •
Order of Christ (Portugal), founded by
Denis of Portugal in 1319. This order considers itself successor of the
Knights Templar. •
Order of the Garter, founded by
Edward III of England •
Order of the Most Holy Annunciation, founded by
Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy in 1362, ceased to be a national order of Italy when
the Kingdom became a Republic in 1946, but continues to be awarded by the heir of the last King as the head of the house of Savoy rules in
fons honorum. •
Order of the Golden Fleece, founded by
Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1430 •
Knights of the Thistle of Bourbon, founded by
Duke of Bourbon in 1370 which today is headed by the
Seigneur of Fief Blondel and also includes the
Order of Our Lady of the Thistle orders of chivalry. In the centre, the
Order of the Golden Fleece, 1820 •
Order of the Tower and Sword, founded by
Afonso V of Portugal in 1459 •
Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus In 1572, Pope
Gregory XIII united the Order of Saint Lazarus in perpetuity with the Crown of Savoy.
Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, merged it with the Savoyan Order of Saint Maurice, and thenceforth the title of Grand Master of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus was hereditary in that house. 1572 •
Order of the Dannebrog, founded by King
Christian V of Denmark in 1671 •
Order of the Thistle, founded by King
James VII of Scotland in 1687 •
Order of the Elephant, founded by King
Christian V of Denmark in 1693 •
Order of St. Andrew, founded by
Tsar Peter the Great of Russia in 1698 •
Order of the White Eagle, founded by King
Augustus II of Poland in 1705 •
Order of the Bath, founded by
King George I of Great Britain on 18 May 1725 •
Order of the Seraphim, founded by
Frederick I of Sweden in 1748. •
Order of the Sword, founded by
Frederick I of Sweden in 1748 [Dormant between 1974 and 2023]. •
Order of the Polar Star, founded by
Frederick I of Sweden in 1748. •
Order of Saint Joachim, founded by several notables of the
Holy Roman Empire in 1755. •
Order of St. George the Triumphant, founded by
Catherine the Great of the
Russian Empire in 1769. •
Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Carlos III, founded by
Charles III of Spain on 19 September 1771 (became a Spanish order) •
Order of Vasa, founded by
Gustav III of Sweden in 1772 (Dormant between 1974 and 2023). •
Order of St Patrick, founded by
George III of the United Kingdom in 1783 (Not awarded since 1936). •
Order of Charles XIII, founded by
Charles XIII of Sweden in 1811. •
Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic, founded by King
Ferdinand VII of Spain on 14 March 1815 (became a Spanish order). •
Military William Order, founded by King
William I of the Netherlands on 30 April 1815. •
Order of the Netherlands Lion, founded by King
William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815. •
Order of St Michael and St George, is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later
George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III. •
Order of the Southern Cross, founded by Emperor
Pedro I of Brazil on 1 December 1822. •
Order of Leopold, founded by King
Leopold I of the
Belgians on 11 July 1832. •
Royal Norwegian Order of St Olav, founded by King
Oscar I of Norway on 21 August 1847. •
Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg), Order founded in 1099 and refounded in 1852. •
Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau, founded by
King-Grand Duke William III of
Luxembourg in 1858. •
Order of the White Elephant is an order of Thailand. It was established in 1861 by King Rama IV of the Kingdom of Siam. •
Order of the Mexican Eagle, a
Mexican Imperial Order founded on 1 January 1865 by
Maximilian I of Mexico, renamed the
Order of the Aztec Eagle in 1933. •
Order of the Crown of Italy, founded by
Victor Emmanuel II, to celebrate the unification of Italy 1868 •
Order of Orange-Nassau, founded by the
Queen regent Emma of the Netherlands, acting on behalf of her under-age daughter
Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands on 4 April 1892. •
Royal Victorian Order, founded by
Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom on 21 April 1896. •
Order of the Crown, founded by
King Leopold II of the
Congo Free State on 15 October 1897 (became a
Belgian order in 1908). •
Order of Leopold II, founded by King Leopold II of the Congo Free State on 24 August 1900 (became a Belgian order in 1908). •
Order of Monisaraphon (or Muni Isvarabarna): founded by King
Sisowath of Cambodia on 1 February 1905. •
Order of Michael the Brave, founded by King
Ferdinand I of Romania on 26 September 1916. •
Order of the British Empire, founded by King
George V of the United Kingdom on 4 June 1917. •
Knightly Order of Vitéz, founded by
Miklós Horthy the Regent of Hungary in 1921. • Order of the Knights of the Southern Cross Australia, founded by the Catholic Bishops of Australia in 1919. •
Order of Skanderbeg, founded by
Zog I of Albania in 1925. •
Order of Civil Merit, founded by King
Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1926. •
Order of the Crown of King Zvonimir, founded by
Ante Pavelić the Poglavnik of Croatia in 1941. •
Order of the Sun, founded by
Man Singh II, the
Maharaja of Jaipur in 1947. •
Royal Order of Sahametrei, founded by
King Norodom Sihanouk of the Kingdom of Cambodia on 9 September 1948. •
Order of the Knights of Rizal, granted a legislative charter by President of the Philippines
Elpidio Quirino on 14 June 1951. •
Order of Canada, founded by Queen
Elizabeth II of Canada in 1967. •
Order of Australia, founded by Queen
Elizabeth II of Australia in 1975. •
Order of Merit of Savoy, founded by
Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples in 1988. •
New Zealand Order of Merit, founded by Queen
Elizabeth II of New Zealand in 1996.
List of former orders •
Order of Saint Lazarus, founded in 1098 at a leper hospital in the
Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem and is one of the lesser known orders. •
Order of Saint Stanislaus, founded by King
Stanislaus II Augustus Poniatowski of Poland in 1765 •
Ludwigsorden (Order of Louis) of the
Grand Duchy of Hesse, founded 1807, abolished 1918 •
Order of the Iron Helmet of
Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) (in present-day Germany), founded 1814, abolished 1866 •
Wilhelmsorden (Order of Wilhelm) of Hesse-Kassel, founded 1851, abolished 1875 •
Order of the Star of India, founded by Queen Victoria in 1861 and has not been awarded since the independence of
India in 1947 •
Order of the Indian Empire, founded by Queen Victoria in 1878 and has not been awarded since the independence of
India in 1947 •
Order of the African Star, founded by King Leopold II of the Congo Free State on 30 December 1888, which became a Belgian order in 1908 and has not been awarded since the independence of
Congo in 1960 •
Royal Order of the Lion, founded by King Leopold II of the Congo Free State on 9 April 1891, which became a Belgian order in 1908 and has not been awarded since the independence of
Congo in 1960 •
Order of the Norwegian Lion, founded 1904, abolished 1952 •
Order of Pahlavi, founded 1928 by
Reza Shah, abolished 1979 after the
Iranian Revolution. There were two classes. The first class, the Grand Collar, was worn by the Shah, crown prince, and awarded to heads of state. The second class, the Grand Cordon, was worn by princes and princesses. ==Typical insignia and ranks==