Order of the Crown (Prussia)

Royal Order of the Crown (Königlicher Kronen-Orden)
1st class breast star of the Order of the Crown, with swords
Awarded by The Kingdom of Prussia
TypeState Order
MottoGott mit uns (God with us)
EligibilityMilitary officers and civilians, Prussian and foreign, with rank/status determining which class one received
CriteriaMerit
StatusObsolete
FounderWilhelm I
ClassesI–IV
Statistics
First induction18 October 1861
Last induction1918
Total inducteesc. 133,000
Precedence
Next (higher)Order of the Red Eagle
Next (lower)House Order of Hohenzollern

Original ribbon of the order

The Royal Order of the Crown (German: Königlicher Kronen-Orden) was an order of chivalry of the Prussian monarchy equivalent in precedence to the older Order of the Red Eagle. It was conferred on qualified military officers and civilians, in recognition of meritorious service, from its establishment in October 1861 until the fall of the monarchy at the end of World War I in November 1918. There were multiple classes in the order, and it was conferred over 133,000 times.

Establishment

The Royal Order of the Crown was instituted by the Prussian king (and later German emperor) Wilhelm I on 18 October 1861, the day of his coronation. According to its founding decree, the order was ranked equally in terms of precedence with the older Order of the Red Eagle, which had been founded in 1792 by King Frederick William II.

Criteria for eligibility

The order rewarded meritorious service to the monarchy or the state in both war and peacetime, and was also used to recognize longstanding service. It could be conferred on only commissioned military officers or civilians of approximately equivalent status. It could be bestowed upon both subjects of the Prussian crown and foreigners. Recipients of lower classes of the order remained eligible to receive higher classes, and multiple awards were not uncommon.

Classes

There were four classes of the order. In addition, a distinction was made within the 2nd class order, which could be conferred with or without a breast star.

Description of the insignia

Badge

The badge of the order was a cross pattée with curved arms. The arms were enameled in white featuring golden border lines within the arms, except for the 4th class cross, which was not enameled. The obverse central medallion depicted a royal crown surrounded by a blue enameled ring bearing the order's motto in capital letters: GOTT MIT UNS (God [is] with us). Early on, there were three differing designs of the crown depicted within the medallion, but the third and last design was established in January 1869 and lasted until the discontinuation of the order in 1918. The reverse central medallion bore the founder's monogram WR and the founding date – Den 18 October 1861 – on the blue enameled ring.

The addition of crossed swords in the center was mandated for merit in the face of the enemy for wartime awards. Recipients of wartime awards who were subsequently awarded a higher class during peacetime received a badge featuring crossed swords placed above the cross, known as "swords on the ring". On 22 June 1871, Wilhelm I decreed that members of the voluntary medical service during the Franco-Prussian War were to be awarded the 3rd or 4th class of the order, featuring a red cross on a white enamel background superimposed on the upper arm of the cross.

Breast Star

A breast star also was awarded to all 1st class recipients and to approximately 30 percent of the 2nd class recipients. This was an eight-pointed star for the 1st class and a four-pointed one for the 2nd class, both with straight rays. In its center, the breast star displayed the obverse medallion of the order's badge with the crown and motto. It also bore the crossed swords for appropriate wartime awards.

Materials

The badges (crosses) of the 1st through the 3rd classes were made of hollow gold from 1861 to 1916, and of gilt silver from 1917 to 1918, during the last years of World War I. The badge of the 4th class was always made of gilt bronze. The center medallions were made of gilt silver from 1861, of gold from 1863 to 1916 and of gilt silver again from 1917 to 1918. The bodies of the stars were made of solid silver, while the medallion elements were gold until 1916 and gilt silver from 1917 to 1918. The swords were gilt silver. As a rare special mark of favor, the insignia of the 1st and 2nd classes could also be set "with brilliants" – meaning the order's badge was partially set with cut diamonds, while the body of the breast star was entirely covered with them.

Ribbons

The founding decree specified that the ribbon of the order was to be dark blue moire. This has been described as dark cornflower blue (reportedly the King's favorite color), though a lighter medium blue was utilized from March 1865 onward.

Subsequent directives created a variety of ribbons for certain categories of the order. An order issued by Wilhelm I on 22 April 1864, mandated that the awards of insignia with swords to civilian recipients were to have a black ribbon with white edging. For a peacetime upgrade to a previously held wartime decoration involving the addition of swords on the ring, the ribbon featured two black and three white stripes with black edging. However, these regulations did not apply to the 1st class, which retained the ribbon color prescribed by the founding statute.

Under the same order, military recipients were awarded the insignia with swords on a white ribbon with black edging for wartime service earned under enemy fire, and were awarded the insignia without swords on the same ribbon pattern for wartime service earned other than under enemy fire. On 22 June 1871, Wilhelm I issued a royal decree stipulating that the 3rd and 4th class insignia awarded for meritorious acts outside the 1870–1871 theater of war were henceforth to be worn on a white ribbon with six black stripes and red edging. Under this same decree, decorations bearing the medical red cross were also to be worn on this ribbon.

Manner of wear

Conferral totals by class

Discontinuation of the order

With the proclamation of the republic on 9 November 1918 and the abdication of the Hohenzollern monarchy, the issuance of royal Prussian orders of chivalry, including the Royal Order of the Crown, was discontinued.

Lists of selected recipients

The following lists enumerate a selection of individuals who were conferred membership of the order in its several classes, in order of precedence. The date of award is displayed, if known. This is only a partial listing and may expand over time.

1st class

2nd class with star

2nd class

3rd class

4th class

Unknown class

References

  1. 1 2 Mike Estelmann: Neue Erkenntnisse zu den Modellen des Königlich Preußischen Kronenordens. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ordenskunde, 2011.
  2. ↑ C. Grauenhorst: Geschichte und Statuten des Rothen Adler-Ordens und des Königlichen Kronen-Ordens. Festschrift zur Feier des Preußischen Krönungs- und Ordensfestes am 23. Januar 1881. Berlin 1881.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Louis Schneider: Der Königliche Kronen-Orden. Berlin: 1871, Urkunden p. 1, No. 1.
  4. ↑ Allerhöchste Ordre wegen Verleihung des Kronen-Ordens für Verdienst vor dem Feind. in: Gesetz-Sammlung für die Königlichen Preußischen Staaten. in: Louis Schneider: Der Königliche Kronen-Orden. Berlin 1871. Urkunden p. 4, Nr. 10.
  5. 1 2 Ordre, betreffend die Verleihung der 3. und 4. Klasse des Kronen-Ordens für patriotische Handlungen außerhalb des Kriegsschauplatzes 1870–1871. In: Louis Schneider: Der Königliche Kronen-Orden. Berlin 1871, Urkunden pp. 5–6, 13.
  6. ↑ Michael Autengruber: Königlicher Kronen-Orden. In: Katalog zur 240. Auktion der Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & CO. KG am 19. November 2013. Orden und Ehrenzeichen. Der Nachlaß der Offiziersfamilie Balck. Osnabrück, u. a. Osnabrück 2013, p. 35 f., Kat.-Nr. 45–47.
  7. ↑ Jörg Nimmergut: Deutsche Orden und Ehrenzeichen. Band 2: Lippe-Reuss. München 1997, p. 869.
  8. 1 2 Allerhöchster Erlaß vom 22. April 1864. In: Louis Schneider: Das Buch vom Rothen Adler-Orden. Zweiter Nachtrag 1863–1868. Berlin: 1868. p. 135–136.
  9. ↑ Statuten des Königlichen Kronenordens in Ordensmuseum.de
  10. ↑ Peter Sauerwald: Der Königlich Preußische Kronen Orden der I. Klasse. Geschichte, bildlich und statistisch. In: Orden–Militaria–Magazin. No. 95, Steinau an der Straße, 2001. p. 4.
  11. ↑ Peter Sauerwald: Der Königlich Preußische Kronen Orden der II. Klasse. Geschichte, bildlich und statistisch. In: Orden–Militaria–Magazin. No. 96, Steinau an der Straße, 2001. p. 8f.
  12. ↑ Peter Sauerwald: Der Königlich Preußische Kronen Orden der I. Klasse. Geschichte, bildlich und statistisch. In: Orden–Militaria–Magazin. No. 97, Steinau an der Straße, 2001. p. 15f.
  13. ↑ Peter Sauerwald: Der Königlich Preußische Kronen Orden der I. Klasse. Geschichte, bildlich und statistisch. In: Orden–Militaria–Magazin. No. 98, Steinau an der Straße, 2001. p. 27.
  14. 1 2 "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36985. London. 23 January 1903. p. 4.
  15. ↑ "No. 27393". The London Gazette. 3 January 1902. p. 1.
  16. 1 2 3 "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36068. London. 17 February 1900. p. 11.
  17. ↑ "Latest Intelligence – The German Army Maneuvres". The Times. No. 36900. London. 16 October 1902. p. 4.
  18. ↑ "Latest intelligence - the German Tariff Bill". The Times. No. 36951. London. 15 December 1902. p. 5.
  19. ↑ Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee und des XIII. Berlin: E.S. Mittler & Sohn. 1914. p. 74.
  20. 1 2 "Court circular". The Times. No. 36686. London. 8 February 1902. p. 9.
  21. ↑ Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee und des XIII. (Königlich Württembergischen) Armeekorps für 1914, Ed.: Preußisches Kriegsministerium, E.S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1914, p. 80.
  22. ↑ Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (in German), Berlin: Gedruckt in der Reichsdruckerei, 1877, p. 657
  23. ↑ Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (in German), Berlin: Gedruckt in der Reichsdruckerei, 1886, p. 577
  24. ↑ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36770. London. 17 May 1902. p. 8.
  25. ↑ "Foreign News: Germany". The Jewish Voice. Vol. XXVII, no. 14. St. Louis, M.O. 6 October 1899. p. 6 – via Historical Jewish Press.
  26. ↑ Rangliste der Kaiserlich Deutschen Marine für das Jahr 1916, Ed.: Marine-Kabinett, E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1916, p. 35.