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Order of the Elephant

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For the Thai order, seeOrder of the White Elephant.

Order of the Elephant
Elefantordenen
Badgeof the Order of the Elephant.
Awarded by

Sovereign of Denmark
TypeChivalric orderin one class
MottoMagnanimi Pretium
(Latin:The prize of greatness)
Awarded forAt the Monarch's pleasure
StatusCurrently constituted
SovereignFrederik X
GradesKnight
(Danish:Ridder,abbr.:R.E.)
Statistics
First induction1693DenmarkChristian V of Denmark
Last induction2024SwedenPrince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland
Precedence
Next (higher)None (Highest)
Next (lower)Order of the Dannebrog

Order of the Elephant ribbon

Collar of the Order of the Elephant.
TheBlome[da;de]family coat of arms with the Order's collar on gravestone inHeiligenstedten.

TheOrder of the Elephant(Danish:Elefantordenen) is aDanishorder of chivalryand is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in 1849, is now almost exclusively used to honour royalty and heads of state.[1]

History

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A Danish religiousconfraternitycalled the Fellowship of the Mother of God, limited to about fifty members of the Danish aristocracy, was founded during the reign ofChristian Iduring the 15th century. The badge of the confraternity showed the Virgin Mary holding herSonwithin a crescent moon and surrounded with the rays of the sun, and was hung from a collar of links in the form of elephants much like the present collar of the Order. After the Reformation in 1536 the confraternity died out, but a badge in the form of an elephant with his profile on its right side was still awarded byFrederick II.[2]This latter badge may have been inspired by the badge of office of the chaplain of the confraternity which is known to have been in the form of an elephant. The order was instituted in its current form on 1 December 1693 byKing Christian Vas having only one class consisting of only 30 noble knights in addition to the Grand Master (i.e., the king) and his sons.[3]The statutes of the order were amended in 1958 by a Royal Ordinance so that both men and women could be members of the order.

The elephant and castle design derives from thehowdah,a carriage that is mounted in the back of anelephant.This type of carriage was mostly utilized in theIndian subcontinent,and the Danish knew about and thus had the ability to adopt this design since they ruled certain parts of India as part of theirsmall colonial empire.The unfamiliar Indian howdah has been replaced in this instance by a familiar European castle, although theIndianriderhas been kept on the elephant.

Composition

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The Danish monarch is the head of the order. The members of the royal family are members of the order, and foreign heads of state are also inducted. In very exceptional circumstances a commoner may also be admitted. The most recent member of the order who was neither a current nor former head of state nor royal wasMærsk Mc-Kinney Møller,a leading industrialist and philanthropist.

The order of the Elephant has one class: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (Ridder af Elefantordenen,usually abbreviated asR.E.in letters et cetera). Knights of the order are granted a place in the 1st Class of theDanish order of precedence.

Insignia and habits

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Coat of arms ofFrederick IV of Denmarkand Norway surrounded by the collars of the Order of the Elephant and theOrder of the Dannebrog
  • Thecollarof the order is of gold. It consists of alternating elephants and towers. On the cover of the elephants there is a D which stands forDania,mediaevalLatinfor Denmark. According to the statutes of the order, the collar is usually only worn on New Years Day (during the Danish monarch's New Years Court) and on major occasions (coronations or jubilees).
  • Thebadgeof the order is an elephant made of white-enamelled gold with blue housings. It is about 5 cm high. On its back the elephant is bearing a watch tower of pink enameled masonry encircled by a row of small table cut diamonds at the bottom with another row just below the crenellation at the top. In front of the tower and behind the elephant's head (which has a diamond set in its forehead and smaller diamonds for its eyes) a colorfully attired and turbanedMoormahoutis sitting, holding a golden rod; on the right side of the elephant there is a cross of five large table cut diamonds and on the left side the elephant bears the crowned monogram of the monarch reigning when it was made. At the top of the tower is a large enameled gold ring from which the badge can be hung from the collar or tied to the sash of the Order. There are about 72 elephants at the chancery of the Order or in circulation. It is estimated that together with an unknown number of elephants in museums around the world, the total number of the elephants is about a hundred.[4]
  • Thestarof the order is an eight-pointed silver star with smooth rays. At its center there is a red enameled disc with a white cross,[5]surrounded by a laurel wreath in silver. It is worn on the left side of the chest.
  • Thesashof the order is of light-blue silkmoiréand 10 cm wide for men 6 cm wide for women. It is placed on the left shoulder with the elephant resting against the right hip. The collar is not worn when the sash is used.
  • The order originally had a distinctive habit worn by the knights on very solemn occasions[6]consisting of a whitedoublet,whitebreeches,white stockings and white shoes, over which was worn a redmantlewith a white lining and with the star of the order embroidered in silver on left side. Over this red mantle was worn a short white shoulder cape with a standing collar, embroidered with scattering of numerous gold flames, upon which was worn the collar of the order (the habit was always worn with the collar of the order, never its ribbon). The habit also had a black hat with aplumeof white and redostrichfeathers. This habit was almost identical to that worn by the knights of theOrder of the Dannebrog.

Upon the death of a Knight of the Order of the Elephant, the insignia of the order must be returned. There are a few exceptions known.

Current knights and officers

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For a full historical list, seeList of knights of the Order of the Elephant.

Sovereign of the Royal Danish Orders of Chivalry

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Current Knights of the Elephant listed by date of appointment

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Name Date
appointed		 Notes
DenmarkQueen Margrethe II of Denmark[7] 20 April 1947 Royal family
Then Princess Margrethe of Denmark
DenmarkTheDowager Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg[7] 20 April 1947 Royal family
Then Princess Benedikte of Denmark
Denmark/Kingdom of GreeceQueen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes[7] 20 April 1947 Royal family
Then Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark
JapanTheEmperor Emeritus of Japan[7] 8 August 1953 Then Crown Prince
NorwayTheKing of Norway[7] 21 February 1958 Then Crown Prince
ThailandTheQueen Mother of Thailand[7] 6 September 1960 Then Queen consort
DenmarkCount Ingolf of Rosenborg[7] 17 February 1961 Royal family
Then Prince Ingolf of Denmark
Pahlavi IranEmpress Farah Pahlavi of Iran[7] 3 May 1963 Then Empress consort
Kingdom of GreecePrincess Irene of Greece and Denmark[7] 11 September 1964
SwedenTheKing of Sweden[7] 12 January 1965 Then Crown Prince
JapanThePrince Hitachi[7] 28 September 1965
BelgiumKing Albert II of Belgium[7] 18 June 1968 Then Prince of Liège
DenmarkPrince Joachim of Denmark[7] 14 January 1972 Royal family
SwedenPrincess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson[7] 6 January 1973 Then Princess Christina of Sweden
NorwayTheQueen of Norway[7] 12 February 1973 Then Crown Princess
United KingdomTheKing of the United Kingdom[7] 30 April 1974 Then Prince of Wales
NetherlandsPrincess Beatrix of the Netherlands[7] 29 October 1975 Former Queen
SpainKing Juan Carlos I of Spain[7] 17 March 1980 Then King
Kingdom of Greece/SpainQueen Sofía of Spain[7] 17 March 1980 Then Queen consort
Born Princess of Greece and Denmark
IcelandVigdís Finnbogadóttir[7] 25 February 1981 Former President of Iceland
PortugalAntónio Ramalho Eanes[7] 25 June 1984 Former President of the Portuguese Republic
SwedenTheQueen of Sweden[7] 3 September 1985
NorwayTheCrown Prince of Norway[7] 20 July 1991
NorwayPrincess Märtha Louise of Norway[7] 13 October 1992
PolandLech Wałęsa[7] 5 July 1993 Former President of the Republic of Poland
BelgiumQueen Paola of Belgium[7] 16 May 1995 Then Queen consort
SwedenTheCrown Princess of Sweden[7] 14 July 1995
DenmarkTheCountess of Frederiksborg[7] 17 November 1995 Formerly Princess Alexandra of Denmark
IcelandÓlafur Ragnar Grímsson[7] 18 November 1996 Former President of Iceland
Kingdom of GreeceCrown Prince Pavlos of Greece[7] 14 January 1997 Also Prince of Denmark
LatviaGuntis Ulmanis[7] 18 March 1997 Former President of the Republic of Latvia
NetherlandsTheKing of the Netherlands[7] 31 January 1998 Then Prince of Orange
JordanQueen Noor Al Hussein of Jordan[7] 27 April 1998 Then Queen consort
JapanTheEmpress Emerita of Japan[7] 2 June 1998 Then Empress consort
BrazilFernando Henrique Cardoso[7] 3 May 1999 Former President of the Federative Republic of Brazil
RomaniaEmil Constantinescu[7] 23 May 2000 Former President of Romania
BulgariaPetar Stoyanov[7] 17 October 2000 Former President of the Republic of Bulgaria
ThailandTheKing of Thailand[7] 7 February 2001 Then Crown Prince
FinlandTarja Halonen[7] 3 April 2001 Former President of the Republic of Finland
SloveniaMilan Kučan[7] 10 October 2001 Former President of the Republic of Slovenia
BelgiumTheKing of the Belgians[7] 28 May 2002 Then Duke of Brabant
LuxembourgTheGrand Duke of Luxembourg[7] 20 October 2003
LuxembourgTheGrand Duchess of Luxembourg[7] 20 October 2003
RomaniaIon Iliescu[7] 16 March 2004 Former President of Romania
DenmarkTheQueen of Denmark[7] 9 May 2004 Royal family
Then Mary Donaldson
JapanTheEmperor of Japan[7] 16 November 2004 Then Crown Prince
BulgariaGeorgi Parvanov[7] 29 March 2006 Former President of the Republic of Bulgaria
BrazilLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva[7] 12 September 2007 President of the Federative Republic of Brazil
MexicoFelipe Calderón Hinojosa[7] 18 February 2008 Former President of the United Mexican States
DenmarkPrincess Marie of Denmark[7] 24 May 2008 Royal family
South KoreaLee Myung-bak[7] 11 May 2011 Former President of the Republic of Korea
SlovakiaIvan Gašparovič 23 October 2012 Former President of the Slovak Republic
FinlandSauli Niinistö 4 April 2013 Former President of the Republic of Finland
NorwayTheCrown Princess of Norway 17 May 2014
CroatiaIvo Josipović 21 October 2014 Former President of the Republic of Croatia
NetherlandsTheQueen of the Netherlands 17 March 2015
MexicoEnrique Peña Nieto 13 April 2016 Former President of the United Mexican States
IcelandGuðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson 24 January 2017 Former President of Iceland
BelgiumTheQueen of the Belgians 28 March 2017
FranceEmmanuel Macron 28 August 2018 President of the French Republic
GermanyFrank-Walter Steinmeier 10 November 2021 Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany
NorwayPrincess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway 21 January 2022
DenmarkTheCrown Prince of Denmark 15 October 2023 Royal family
Then Prince Christian of Denmark
SpainTheKing of Spain 6 November 2023
SpainTheQueen of Spain 6 November 2023
DenmarkPrincess Isabella of Denmark 14 January 2024 Royal family
DenmarkPrince Vincent of Denmark 14 January 2024 Royal family
DenmarkPrincess Josephine of Denmark 14 January 2024 Royal family
SwedenTheDuke of Västergötland[8] 6 May 2024

Officers of the Chapter of the Royal Danish Orders of Chivalry

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Chancellor of the Chapter

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Historiographer of the Chapter

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  • (1808–1821): Abraham Kall, historian
  • (1827–1851): Laurids Engelstoft,S.K.,historian
  • (1852–1893): C.F. Wegener,S.K.,historian
  • (1897–1921): Troels Troels-Lund,S.K.,historian
  • (1921–1951): Louis Bobé,K.1.,historian
  • (1951–1957): Bjørn Kornerup,K.1.,historian
  • (1958–1976): Albert Fabritius,K.,historian
  • (1976–1994): Tage Kaarsted,K.,historian
  • (1994–2018): Knud J.V. Jespersen,K.1.,historian
  • (2018–): Jes Fabricius-Møller, historian

Secretary of the Chapter

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Treasurer of the Chapter

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  • (1808–1826):Johan Sigismund von Møsting,Minister of Finance
  • (1826–1828):Ove Ramel Sehested,Minister of the Privy Council
  • (1828–1831): Frantz Bülow
  • (1831–1833):Johan Frederik Bardenfleth
  • (1834–1840): Christian Ove Haxthausen, Chamberlain
  • (1840–1852): Frederik Bardenfleth
  • (1852–?): Sophus Danneskiold-Samsøe,S.K.
  • (1876–1888): C.G.W. Johannsen, LL.D.
  • (1888–1898): Carl Løvenskiold, Chamberlain
  • (1898–1905): Ludvig Castenskiold
  • (1905–1909):Hugo Egmont Hørring
  • (1909–1918): Christian Moltke
  • (1918–1933):Frederik Raben-Levetzau,Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • (1944–1954): Johannes Hørring, LL.D.
  • (1955–?): Rudolf Lassen
  • (1991–2010): Paul Henning Fischer, LL.D., Ambassador, Chamberlain
  • (2010–): Per Thornit, Chamberlain

Other notable knights

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Previous knights have included:[9]

•Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil.

See also

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References

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  1. ^"The Royal Orders of Chivalry".The Danish Monarchy.14 January 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 9 March 2011.Retrieved1 March2011.
  2. ^Rosenborg Slot – Objects[permanent dead link]
  3. ^The knights of the Order were often called theBlue Knights(in reference to the color of their ribbon), as opposed to theWhite Knights(again, in reference to the color of their ribbon) of the junior Danishorder of chivalry,theOrder of the Dannebrog,also instituted by Christian V.
  4. ^In an article entitled "Has anyone seen our elephant?" The 1 July 2004 issue of the Copenhagen Post reported that the original mold for the elephant badge had been stolen from the court jeweler, Georg Jensen.
  5. ^Originally this cross was formed of six brilliant cut diamonds, but at present it is formed of six small hemispherical silver beads.
  6. ^i.e., atDanish coronations.
  7. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeafagahaiajakalamanaoapaqarasatauavawaxayazOfficial list of knights of the Order of the ElephantArchived16 July 2011 at theWayback Machine.(in Danish)
  8. ^"Ordensudveksling ved statsbesøg til Sverige".Kongehuset.Retrieved6 May2024.
  9. ^Jørgen Pedersen (2009).Riddere af Elefantordenen, 1559–2009(in Danish). Syddansk Universitetsforlag.ISBN978-87-7674-434-2.
  10. ^Macdougall, NormanJames III, A Political Study(1982)
  11. ^Salmonsens Konversationsleksikon,entry "Tycho Brahe"(in Danish)
  12. ^Salmonsens Konversationsleksikon,entry "Heinrich Rantzau"(in Danish)
  13. ^Journal of the Royal Armoury(in Danish). Aktiebolaget Thule. 1970. p. 170.
  14. ^Jørgen Pedersen (2009).Riddere af Elefantordenen, 1559–2009(in Danish). Syddansk Universitetsforlag. p. 470.ISBN978-87-7674-434-2.
  15. ^abcBirger A. Andersen (20 April 2012)."Nu vil Margrethe have Mærsks Elefantorden tilbage".www.bt.dk.
  16. ^abRick Steves (25 June 2013).Rick Steves' Snapshot Copenhagen & the Best of Denmark.Avalon Travel. pp. 104–.ISBN978-1-59880-632-8.
  17. ^abSlater, Stephen (2013).The Illustrated Book of Heraldry.Wigston, Leicestershire: Lorenz Books. p. 225.ISBN978-0-7548-2659-0.
  18. ^"H.K.H. Prins Philip, Hertugen af Edinburgh".Kongehuset(in Danish). 17 April 2021.Retrieved28 April2021.
  19. ^"Burke's Peerage and Gentry > The Royal Family > HM Queen Elizabeth II".Burke's Peerage & Gentry and The Origins Network. Archived fromthe originalon 1 December 2009.Retrieved24 October2010.
  20. ^Jan Körner (2 February 2011)."Folkets fjender... Margrethes venner".ekstrabladet.dk.

Further reading

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