The Order of Sidonia was the

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Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Saxon ...

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chivalric order 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 ...

for women. Created 14 March 1871 by King

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, the order was granted to female members of the Saxon nobility until the fall of the monarchy in 1918. It was named for the duchess consort of Saxony and margravine consort of Meissen, ''née'' princess Sidonia of Bohemia.

Insignia

Members of the Sidonian Order wore a

Maltese cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which developed f ...

of gold and enamel, suspended from a purple bow with white and green stripes. Members of the royal family wore a sash instead of the bow. At the apex of the Maltese cross, a medallion featured an image of a helmeted female figure, surrounded with the name “Sidonia”.

Sources

* Tagore, Rajah Sir Sourindro Mohun. The Orders of Knighthood, British and Foreign. Calcutta: The Catholic Orphan Press, 1884. {{Orders of knighthood for women Sidonia, Order of Sidonia Order of Sidonia, Order of Orders, decorations, and medals of Saxony