L'Ordre de l'Harmonie ( French: "The Order of Unity"), also called ''Solfjädersorden'' (

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

: "The Order of the Hand fan"), was a Swedish royal

dynastic order A dynastic order, monarchical order, or house order is an order under royal patronage. Such an order is bestowed by, as a legitimate , a sovereign or the head of a once-sovereign ruling family. These are often considered part of the cultural ...

, founded by Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden in 1744. It was awarded to 22 people between 1744 and 1746.

History

On 29 August 1744, the day before the wedding between Louisa Ulrika of Prussia and

Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden Adolf Frederick, or Adolph Frederick ( sv, Adolf Fredrik, german: Adolf Friedrich; 14 May 171012 February 1771) was King of Sweden from 1751 until his death. He was the son of Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin, and Albertina ...

, the royal company traveled by boat to the wedding on the

Drottningholm Palace The Drottningholm Palace ( sv, Drottningholms slott) is the private residence of the Swedish royal family. Drottningholm is near the capital Stockholm. Built on the island Lovön (in Ekerö Municipality of Stockholm County), it is one of Sweden ...

. On this occasion, Louisa Ulrika accidentally broke her

hand fan A handheld fan, or simply hand fan, is any broad, flat surface that is waved back-and-forth to create an airflow. Generally, purpose-made handheld fans are folding fans, which are shaped like a sector of a circle and made of a thin material (suc ...

. Adolf Frederick collected the pieces of the broken fan and distributed them to those present as a memento of the incident, which gave Louisa Ulrika the idea to create the order. Louisa Ulrika was known for her political ambitions and her order was interpreted, both nationally and internationally, to have the political significance of unity before division, signalling her ambition to abolish the parliamentary system of the

Age of Liberty In Swedish and Finnish history, the Age of Liberty ( sv, frihetstiden; fi, vapauden aika) was a period that saw parliamentary governance, increasing civil rights and the decline of the Swedish Empire that began with Charles XII's death in 1718 ...

in favor of an

absolute monarchy Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power, though a limited constitut ...

.Olof Jägerskiöld (1945). Lovisa Ulrika. Stockholm: Wahlström & Widstrand. ISBN

Recipients

# Edvard Didrik Taube # Herman Cedercreutz #

Carl Gustaf Tessin Count Carl Gustaf Tessin (5 September 1695 – 7 January 1770) was a Swedish Count and politician and son of architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger and Hedvig Eleonora Stenbock. He was one of the most brilliant personages of his day, and the mo ...

Ulla Tessin Ulrika "Ulla" Lovisa Tessin née Sparre (23 May 1711 – 14 December 1768) was a Swedish courtier, letter writer and dilettante artist. Life Ulla Tessin was born to ''riksråd'' marshal count Erik Sparre of Sundby and Christina (Stina) Beata Li ...

Frederick I of Sweden Frederick I ( sv, Fredrik I; 28 April 1676 – 5 April 1751) was prince consort of Sweden from 1718 to 1720, and King of Sweden from 1720 until his death and (as ''Frederick I'') also Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel from 1730. He ascended the throne f ...

Prince Augustus William of Prussia Prince Augustus William of Prussia (german: August Wilhelm; 9 August 1722 – 12 June 1758) was a son of King Frederick William I of Prussia and a younger brother and general of King Frederick II (Frederick the Great). Augustus was the second su ...

References

* Berghman, Arvid (1949). Nordiska riddareordnar och dekorationer. Skrifter utgivna av Riksheraldikerämbetet. Malmö: J. Kroon, Malmö ljustrycksanstalt. Sid. 24–25. Libris 1388795 * Nationalencyklopedin. * Olof Jägerskiöld (1945). Lovisa Ulrika. Stockholm: Wahlström & Widstrand. ISBN {{Swedish orders, decorations, and medals Dynastic orders 1744 establishments in Sweden Orders, decorations, and medals of Sweden Sweden during the Age of Liberty