Although the royal decree of creation was in September 1771, Charles III did not make the orders public that would regulate the distinction until 24 October. The reason for this lies in the origin of the Order. The future king and prince of Asturias,
Charles IV, had been married for five years with no offspring, reason for which when his first child was born his grandfather, Charles III, wanted to leave evidence of his gratitude to God, to whom he declared having prayed to while waiting for the continuation of the dynasty, and, specifically, to the Virgin Mary in his advocacy of the
Immaculate Conception and of whom he declared himself the profoundly devout king. Like so, on the given date, when the king's daughter-in-law assisted the first religious affair with the child in her arms, the king wanted to publish the laws of concession, naming himself "Great Master of the Order" and giving his heirs, as long as they held the title "King of Spain", the same treatment and position. Although the child and various brothers died soon after, Charles III maintained his agreement, and the number of Crosses given was greatly reduced at the monarch's regret. The orders of creation demanded two requirements: to be "worthy and affectionate of His Highness". Two classes were created: the
Knights Grand Cross and the Knights, also known as
caballeros pensionados ("Pensioner Knights", or simply
pensionados, "pensioners"), the monarch being discretional with his authorization, although it was limited to sixty of the former and two-hundred of the latter.
Pope Clement XIV recognized the Order through a
papal bull of 21 February 1772, and bestowed upon it the religious benefits, to the Order as well as its members, giving the Great Master all the capacity to decree in religious matters regarding the members, even
absolution and
apostolic blessing. The benefits of the members of the Order were of a different nature, later increasing under his successor
Pope Pius VI. in the robes of the order, the first design used until 1789 The
insignias of the Order have varied over time, but have invariably maintained some original features: blue silk band with white design, an eight-point cross with the image of the Immaculate Conception, the motto
Virtuti et Merito and the figure of Charles III. There is a portrait of Charles III wearing the robes of the order in the
Royal Palace of Madrid, painted by
Mariano Salvador Maella. In 1783 the third class of Supernumerary Knights was created. At this moment the duties and requirements of the titles were specified: they needed to have "
pure and noble blood" up to their great-grandparents, as was regulated by the Castilian
Fueros and the other valid laws. Those received by the Order took an oath for loyalty towards the king, his family, and the protection of the goods of the Royal House, recognizing him as Great Master, live and die in
Catholic faith, accepting as indisputable the Mystery of the Immaculate Conception, and attending and receiving
Communion at Mass at least once a year. The government of the Order became more and more complex, although in truth it was the monarch and the treasurer who granted authorization and retributions. The king was especially careful to incorporate into the Order theologians of the Crown that investigated the mysteries of the Virgin Mary, in some cases the clergymen being greater in number than the knights and nobles of which it was made up. The meetings were held in the Church of San Gil in Madrid twice a year, one coinciding with the Immaculate Conception and the other with the
All Saints' Day. With Charles IV of Spain some reforms were made to the dress and the distribution of colours in the distinctions. The
Peninsular War caused two institutions to attribute the faculty of the government of the Order:
Joseph Bonaparte and the
Suprime Central Junta. In the end, these were abolished by Joseph. The colours of the band of the Order were adopted by some members of the
Provisional Government of Argentina to signify their adhesion to King
Ferdinand VII and would later come
to represent the movement for independence. In 1815, Ferdinand introduced a new star for the Pensioner Knights, showing the reverse of the badge. The Order was formally converted to a civil order in 1847. The classes of Pensioner Knights and Supernumerary Knights were transformed into the classes of
Commander by Number and
Knight, respectively. The Knights Grand Cross and Commanders by Number were limited to 120 and 300 respectively, while the new class of Commanders and the Knights are unlimited until today. In 1878, the Knight of Collar was introduced as the highest class of the order, limited to 60 recipients. The order's current regulations were approved by
Royal Decree 1051 of 2002. The regulation sets the objective of the order as a means of "rewarding the citizens who, with their effort, initiative and work, have brought a distinguished and extraordinary service to the Nation". The Grand Master of the order is the monarch of Spain, currently
King Felipe VI, and the Grand Chancellor is the prime minister, currently
Pedro Sánchez. ==The Grand Cross==