Orders of chivalry for women, orders of knighthood for women or ladies orders are
orders of chivalry
An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is an order of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades ( 1099–1291) and paired with medieval concep ...
reserved solely for women. These knighthoods for women made their first appearance in 1600, and have been less numerous than traditional knighthoods reserved for men.
Though many kingdoms, such as
Great Britain or the
Netherlands, allow both men and women to be invested with the same orders of knighthood, orders in other kingdoms were exclusive for men. Several of these kingdoms eventually established orders for the exclusive membership of women. Tradition frequently called upon the reigning queen or empress, queen or empress consort to serve as the Grand Mistress of their respective all-female, royal or imperial orders. In other cases, the king or emperor is the sole male member of the order, acting in his role as the sovereign or master of all orders established and conferred within his kingdom or empire. A high number of female orders existed in
Germany,
Austria and
Russia.
List of Ladies' orders
The following list of orders that were established for the sole or primary membership of women:
Austria
*
Order of Elizabeth
The Imperial Austrian Order of Elizabeth (German: ''Kaiserlich österreichischer Elisabeth-Orden''), founded in 1898 by Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, was an order created for women. The order was the namesake of Saint E ...
*
Order of the Starry Cross
Egypt
*
Order of the Virtues (Egypt)
France
*
Order of the Ladies of the Cord
The Order of the Ladies of the Cord (French: L’Ordre des Dames chevalières de la Cordelière" or "Ordre de la Cordelière"), was a ladies order founded by the French queen Anne of Brittany in 1498. This rope with knots had been added by her st ...
Germany
Bavaria
*
Order of Theresa
*
Order of Saint Elizabeth
Prussia
*
Order of Louise
*
Ladies Merit Cross
Saxony
*
Order of Sidonia
Württemberg
*
Order of Olga
Greece
*
Order of Beneficence[
* Order of Saints Olga and Sophia
]
Japan
* Order of the Precious Crown
Korean Empire
*
Ottoman Empire
* Order of Charity
Persia
*Order of Aftab
The Order of Aftab (Persian: نشان آفتاب trans. ''Neshan-e Aftab''), also known as the Order of the Sun, was a decoration founded by Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar, the Shah of Iran, in February 1873, before his first visit to various European ...
* Order of the Pleiades
Portugal
*Order of Saint Isabel
The Order of Queen Saint Isabel ( pt, Ordem da Rainha Santa Isabel) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of which the Grand Mistress is the Duchess of Braganza.
History
King John VI of Portugal created the order on 4 November 1801 in honour ...
Philippines
* Order of Gabriela Silang
Russia
* Order of Saint Catherine
Spain
* Order of Queen Maria Luisa
United Kingdom
* Order of the Crown of India
References
{{Orders of knighthood for women