Dames of Malta are female members of the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...
. The male counterparts of these
Dames
''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the British honours system and those of several other Commonwealth realms, such as Australia and New Zeala ...
are the
Knights of Malta.
Prominent living Dames of Malta include:
*
Anne M. Burke
*
Bernadette Castro
Bernadette Castro (born July 10, 1944 in Manhattan) is an American businesswoman and former New York politician who served in the Cabinet of former New York Governor George Pataki. She is a partner with her family in Castro Properties.
In the e ...
*
Janne Haaland Matláry
Dames of Malta, Dame Janne Haaland Matláry (born 27 April 1957) is a Norwegian political scientist, writer, and politician, who formerly represented the Kristelig Folkeparti, Christian Democratic Party. Since 2012 she has been a member of the Con ...
*
Freda Payne
Freda Charcilia Payne (born September 19, 1942Some sources give a birth year of 1945, but this appears to be an error as all sources agree that she is older than her sister Scherrie, born 1944.) is an American singer and actress. Payne is best ...
*
Sharon Rich
Sharon Rich (born June 11, 1953) is an American author and film historian, best known for the biography '' Sweethearts'' about 1930s singing stars Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.
Career
She was close friends for many years with Jeanette MacD ...
*
Karen Garver Santorum
*
Marianna, Dowager Viscountess Monckton of Brenchley, served as
High Sheriff of Kent
The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (prior to 1974 the office previously known as sheriff)."Sheriffs appointed for a county or Greater London shall be known as high sheriffs, and any reference in any enactment or instrum ...
(1981–82); widow of
Gilbert Walter Riversdale Monckton, 2nd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley
*
Patricia Mary, Lady Talbot of Malahide (née Riddell)
*
Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis
Princess Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis (''Elisabeth Margarete Maria Anna Beatriz Prinzessin von Thurn und Taxis''; born 24 March 1982) is a German journalist, author, socialite, and art collector. By birth, as the daughter of Johannes, 11th Pr ...
*
Princess Michael of Kent
Princess Michael of Kent (born Baroness Marie-Christine Anna Agnes Hedwig Ida von Reibnitz, 15 January 1945) is a member of the British royal family of German, Austrian, Czech and Hungarian descent. She is married to Prince Michael of Kent, ...
Deceased Dames of Malta
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Lady Jean Bertie (née Crichton-Stuart), mother of
Fra' Andrew Willoughby Ninian Bertie, first Grand Master of the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...
since 1258 to hail from the English-speaking world
*
Emma, Lady Hamilton
Dame Emma Hamilton (born Amy Lyon; 26 April 176515 January 1815), generally known as Lady Hamilton, was an English maid, model, dancer and actress. She began her career in London's demi-monde, becoming the mistress of a series of wealthy me ...
(1765-1815), awarded the Maltese Cross by Emperor Paul I of Russia for her aid to blockaded Malta. Lady Hamilton was the first English woman to be invested as a Dame of Malta
[Williams 2006, p, 234.]
*
Csilla von Boeselager
Csilla von Boeselager (May 17, 1941 in Budapest – February 23, 1994, in Arnsberg-Voßwinkel) was a Baroness who founded the Hungarian Maltese Charity Organisation in Germany (german: Ungarischer Malteser Caritas Dienst), and initiated the found ...
, Hungarian philanthropist; founded the Hungarian Maltese Charity Organisation (Ungarischer Malteser Caritas Dienst)
*
Genevieve Garvan Brady
Genevieve Brady, Duchess of the Holy Roman Church (later Macaulay, née Garvan; April 11, 1880 – November 24, 1938) was an American philanthropist and patron of Catholic charities. She served as the Vice President of the Welfare Council of New ...
, Papal Duchess, Dame of the
Order of the Holy Sepulchre
The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under ...
, holder of the Cross
Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice
''Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice'' ("For Church and Pope" in Latin) is a decoration of the Holy See. It is currently conferred for distinguished service to the Catholic Church by lay people and clergy.
History
The medal was established by Leo XIII o ...
, founder of the Carroll Club (“for Catholic business girls”), philanthropist; board chairman
Girl Scouts of the USA; vice-president of the Welfare Council of New York
*
Marie Isobel, Countess Cathcart
Marie Isobel Cathcart, Countess Cathcart, DStJ (née Marie Isobel French, formerly Marie, Lady Weldon) (18 June 1923 – 25 February 2015) was a British peeress.
Early life
She was born Marie Isobel French, eldest daughter of the Hon. William J ...
*
Mary Higgins Clark
Mary Higgins Clark (born Mary Theresa Eleanor Higgins (December 24, 1927 – January 31, 2020) was an American author of suspense novels. Each of her 51 books was a bestseller in the United States and various European countries, and all of he ...
Virginia A. Dwyer (1921-1997) director and deputy chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; chairman of the board of trustees of the University of Rochester; and a board member of Eaton Corporation, Schering-Plough, Borden, Southern Company, the Atlantic Companies, and Georgia Power
Vice-President, Brotherhood of Blessed Gérard, the South African Relief Organisation of the
Order of Malta
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...
; first
South African woman to be invested as a Dame of Malta
*
Clare Boothe Luce
Clare Boothe Luce ( Ann Clare Boothe; March 10, 1903 – October 9, 1987) was an American writer, politician, U.S. ambassador, and public conservative figure. A versatile author, she is best known for her 1936 hit play '' The Women'', which ha ...
, American playwright and political activist
Dorothea Angela McElduff (1926–2013), Member of Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre and Dame of Malta
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Mary McShain (née Mary J. Horstmann), great-niece of Bishop Ignatius F. Horstmann (the third Bishop of the
Diocese of Cleveland
The Diocese of Cleveland ( la, Dioecesis Clevelandensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. Pope Pius IX erected the diocese April 23, 1847, in te ...
); widow of
John McShain
John McShain (December 21, 1896 – September 9, 1989) was a American building contractor known as "The Man Who Built Washington".
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Irish immigrants, McShain graduated from St. Joseph's Preparatory S ...
*
Regina A Quick, American philanthropist
*
Phyllis Schlafly
Phyllis Stewart Schlafly (; born Phyllis McAlpin Stewart; August 15, 1924 – September 5, 2016) was an American attorney, conservative activist, author, and anti-feminist spokesperson for the national conservative movement. She held paleocons ...
, American constitutional lawyer and conservative activist
*
Lady Hilda Susan Northcote Swan, late wife of
Sir Conrad Swan
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Princess Urraca of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
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*
Princess Maria Ludwiga Theresia of Bavaria
Princess Maria Ludwiga Theresia of Bavaria (6 July 187210 June 1954) was a daughter of the last King of Bavaria, Ludwig III of Bavaria, Ludwig III, and his wife, Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (1849–1919), Maria Theresia of Austria-Este. Her husb ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malta, Dames of
Lists of Roman Catholics