Order of the Norwegian Lion
Encyclopedia
The Order of the Norwegian Lion was a Norwegian
order of knighthood established by King Oscar II of Norway
on 21 January 1904, "in memory of the glorious events associated with Norway’s venerable Coat of Arms
".
The order was established as an equivalent in rank to the Swedish Order of the Seraphim
as knights of the Norwegian Order of St. Olav ranked below the knights of the Seraphim in the shared Swedo-Norwegian Royal court. However the expansion of the Norwegian honours system received mixed reactions amongst Norwegian politicians.
The Union
between Sweden and Norway was dissolved in 1905 before any Norwegian knights had been appointed and King Haakon VII of Norway
chose not to appoint any new knights. King Haakon VII formally repealed the order in a Court resolution on 11 March 1952. The last living knight was Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden
who died in 1973.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
order of knighthood established by King Oscar II of Norway
Oscar II of Sweden
Oscar II , baptised Oscar Fredrik was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death and King of Norway from 1872 until 1905. The third son of King Oscar I of Sweden and Josephine of Leuchtenberg, he was a descendant of Gustav I of Sweden through his mother.-Early life:At his birth in Stockholm, Oscar...
on 21 January 1904, "in memory of the glorious events associated with Norway’s venerable Coat of Arms
Coat of arms of Norway
The coat of arms of Norway is a crowned, golden lion rampant holding an axe with an argent blade, on a crowned, triangular and red escutcheon. Its elements originate from personal insignias for the royal house in the High Middle Ages, thus being among the oldest in Europe...
".
The order was established as an equivalent in rank to the Swedish Order of the Seraphim
Order of the Seraphim
The Royal Order of the Seraphim is a Swedish Royal order of chivalry created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Polar Star...
as knights of the Norwegian Order of St. Olav ranked below the knights of the Seraphim in the shared Swedo-Norwegian Royal court. However the expansion of the Norwegian honours system received mixed reactions amongst Norwegian politicians.
The Union
Union between Sweden and Norway
The Union between Sweden and Norway , officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, consisted of present-day Sweden and Norway between 1814 and 1905, when they were united under one monarch in a personal union....
between Sweden and Norway was dissolved in 1905 before any Norwegian knights had been appointed and King Haakon VII of Norway
Haakon VII of Norway
Haakon VII , known as Prince Carl of Denmark until 1905, was the first king of Norway after the 1905 dissolution of the personal union with Sweden. He was a member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg...
chose not to appoint any new knights. King Haakon VII formally repealed the order in a Court resolution on 11 March 1952. The last living knight was Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden
Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden
Gustaf VI Adolf - Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf - was King of Sweden from October 29, 1950 until his death. His official title was King of Sweden, of the Goths and of the Wends. He was the eldest son of King Gustaf V and his wife Victoria of Baden...
who died in 1973.
Complete list of knights
- King Oscar II (21 January 1904)
- Crown Prince Gustaf of Sweden and Norway (21 January 1904)
- Prince Carl of Sweden and NorwayPrince Carl, Duke of VästergötlandPrince Carl of Sweden and Norway, Duke of Västergötland , was the third son of King Oscar II of Sweden-Norway and Sophia of Nassau.-History:...
(21 January 1904) - Prince Eugen of Sweden and NorwayPrince Eugén, Duke of NärkePrince Eugen Napoleon Nicolaus of Sweden and Norway, Duke of Närke was the youngest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway....
(21 January 1904) - Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden and NorwayGustaf VI Adolf of SwedenGustaf VI Adolf - Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf - was King of Sweden from October 29, 1950 until his death. His official title was King of Sweden, of the Goths and of the Wends. He was the eldest son of King Gustaf V and his wife Victoria of Baden...
(21 January 1904) - Prince Vilhelm of Sweden and Norway (21 January 1904)
- Prince Erik of Sweden and Norway (21 January 1904)
- Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany (27 January 1904)
- Emperor Franz Joseph I of AustriaFranz Joseph I of AustriaFranz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
and HungaryHungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
(5 April 1904) - King Christian IX of DenmarkChristian IX of DenmarkChristian IX was King of Denmark from 16 November 1863 to 29 January 1906.Growing up as a prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a junior branch of the House of Oldenburg which had ruled Denmark since 1448, Christian was originally not in the immediate line of succession to the Danish...
(10 September 1904) - President Émile LoubetÉmile LoubetÉmile François Loubet was a French politician and the 8th President of France.-Early life:He was born the son of a peasant proprietor and mayor of Marsanne . Admitted to the Parisian bar in 1862, he took his doctorate in law the next year...
of FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(1 December 1904) - Formally King Haakon VII became Grand Master on 18 November 1905, but he never wore the order.
External links and references