Order of Saint Louis
 Kingdom of Ludovicia | |
|---|---|
| Type | Statal order |
| Motto |
POUR DIEU ET SAINT LOUIS ("For God and Saint Louis") |
| Status | In use |
| Institution | 9 august 1795 |
| First chief | Louis I of Ludovicia |
| Actual chief | Louis VIII of Ludovicia |
| Classes | Knight Companion/Dame Companion (unique class) |
| Precedence | |
| Higher order | - |
| Lower order | Order of Military Merit |
 | |
The Order of Saint Louis is the highest honour order in Kingdom of Ludovicia.
Admission is restricted to no more than 30 members whose choice is a matter for the sovereign, contrary to what happens in other orders, in which the king usually appoints members on a proposal, even informally, of the prime minister. Those admitted men are known as Knights Companions, women as Lady Companion. Exceptionally, the Order can admit members out of the limit of 30 (in this case called supernumerary), usually the sovereign family, or foreign sovereigns. Given the exclusivity of the Order, it is only awarded to personalities who have distinguished themselves through their outstanding achievements in serving the ludovician kingdom.
Contents
History
The award was established in 1795 by the first king of Ludovica, Louis I, as the supreme honour of the state, precisely dedicated to his saint patron, St. Louis (also patron of the Kingdom of France) and it is therefore the oldest honour of the kingdom of Ludovicia.
Awards
The award was granted only to men until 1914 when king Louis VI opened the honour even to women, appointing the first ladies in person of his mother, his sisters and his wife, then ushering in the habit of admitting to the order of law the female members of the royal family as well as those of men.
The first foreigner to be awarded the Order of Saint Louis was the french president Mac Mahon in 1878. There was also the case of some personalities "degraded" or expelled from the Order as in the case of bishop Louis Rohan-Lefevre who was expelled from the order in 1978 after his resignation and exile.
Composition
The order, in addition to the riders and to the ladies who constitute it, is made up of four organizational positions:
- Prelate
- Chancellor
- Master of Heraldry
- Secretary
The office of prelate is still traditionally entrusted to the bishop of Port Royale, which is the oldest dioceses founded in the kingdom (although the most important is in the capital Ludovicia, that has its own archdiocese). He takes care of the spiritual management and administering the sacred offices connected to the order.
The Chancellor deals with verbalizing the Order meetings as well as to open and close various sessions attended by the knights and ladies of the institution.
The Heraldry Master is the head of the Heraldry College of Ludovicia, the ludoviciana authorities for storage and updating of coats of arms and knightly orders.
The Secretary has the role of master of ceremonies.
Insigna
- The cloak is in light blue velvet completed by a collar with guilloche and with the coat of arms of the order embroidered on the left shoulder.
- The collar is made entirely of gold and weighing almost 1 kg, it consists of a chain of intertwined knots alternating with enamelled medallions that show the actual figures of the sovereign (a crowned L). As a pendant shows the insignia of the order, an oval with the figure of Saint Louis IX of France in vestments gifts and blessing.
- The ribbon is plane light blue.
The members of the Order are signed, after the name, if men with KSL (Knight Companion) or LSL if women (Lady Companion). If they have more than one title, the Order of Saint Louis takes precedence, except for titles of nobility. The official chapel of the order is the Saint Louis Chapel in the Royal Palace of Ludovicia where all the knights meet once a year on August 9, the day of commemoration of the foundation.
| Ribbon bars | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Knight/Dame Companion | ||||
Current members of the order
Sovreign (Grand Master)
- Louis VIII of Ludovicia (from 1993)
Knights and dames
- Leopold von Altbishofen, prime minister
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Knights and dames of royal family
- Mary of Turbighen, queen consort
- Louis Philip, crown prince
- Ludovica, royal princess
- Isabella, royal princess
Foreigns knights and dames
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Officiers
- Prelate: ?
- Chancellor: ?
- Master of Heraldry: ?
- Secretary: ?
Bibliography
- L. von Altbishofen, Orders of national merit in Ludovicia, Ludovicia's Royal Print, 2012
