The Order of Saint Elizabeth was an all-female chivalric and charitable order in the
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German E ...
. The following excerpt is from ''The Orders of Knighthood, British and Foreign'' (1884):
History
The first Consort of the Elector Charles Theodore of the Palatinate, Elizabeth Augusta, daughter of the Palatine Joseph Charles Emanuel of Schultzbach, founded this Order for ladies in honor of her sainted patroness and namesake on 18 October 1766, as a purely charitable institution for the poor. It was confirmed on 31 January 1767, by Pope Clement XII, and endowed with various indulgencies. The Catholic religion and the Seize Quartiers
Seize quartiers is a French phrase which literally means a person's "sixteen quarters", the coats of arms of their sixteen great-great-grandparents quarters of nobility, which are typically accompanied by a five generation genealogy ahnentafel ou ...
– the proof of noble descent running through sixteen generations of their own or their husband’s ancestors – are indispensable conditions for candidates. The Grand Mistress is, however, empowered to nominate and unlimited number of ladies, from Princely Houses and her own Court, as also six other married or widowed ladies of noble, but not ancient descent. The nomination takes place either on Easter or on Saint Elizabeth’s Day (19 November). The entrance fee is four ducats. The badge is a white enameled cross, representing on one side Saint Elizabeth dispensing charity to the poor, and on the other, the initials of the founder. It is worn on the left breast by a blue ribbon with a red border. No Member can appear in public without it, except by fine of one ducat. The King appoints the Grand Mistress.
Members
*
Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria
Archduchess Marie Valerie Mathilde Amalie of Austria (22 April 1868 – 6 September 1924) was the youngest child of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria. She was usually called Valerie.
On 31 July 1890, she married Archduk ...
*
Archduchess Gisela of Austria
Archduchess Gisela Louise Marie of Austria (12 July 1856 – 27 July 1932) was the second daughter and eldest surviving child of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria.
Although christened ''Gisella'', she only ever wro ...
* Empress
Amélie of Leuchtenberg
Amélie of Leuchtenberg ( pt, Amélia Augusta Eugénia Napoleona de Leuchtenberg; french: Amélie Auguste Eugénie Napoléonne de Leuchtenberg; 31 July 1812 – 26 January 1873) was Empress of Brazil as the wife of Pedro I of Brazil.
She was the g ...
* Empress
Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein
*
Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria
, house = Wittelsbach
, father = Prince Franz of Bavaria
, mother = Princess Isabella Antonie of Croÿ
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Nymphenburg Palace, Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire
, death_date =
, de ...
*
Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
Princess Marie Luise Karoline Alexandra of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (17 November 1845 – 26 November 1912), later Countess of Flanders, was a princess of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, later simply of Hohenzollern. She married Prince Philippe, Count ...
; 1900: Wedding Gift in honour of her son.
*
Princess Joséphine Caroline of Belgium
nl, Josephine Caroline Maria Albertina
, title = Princess Karl Anton of Hohenzollern
, image = JosephineBelgHohenz.jpg
, image_size =
, caption =
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Brussels, Belgium
, death_date =
, ...
; 1900: Wedding Gift in honour of her brother.
*
Princess Henriette of Belgium nl, Henriëtte Maria Charlotte Antonia
, father = Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders
, mother = Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Brussels, Belgium
, death_date =
, death_place = Sierre, ...
; 1900: Wedding Gift in honour of her brother.
[Nieuws Van Den Dag (Het) 02-10-1900]
*
Princess Isabella Antonie of Croÿ
Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince.
Princess as a subst ...
*
Princess Louise of Orléans
, title = Princess Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
, image = Louise of France Princess of Bourbon.jpg
, image_size =
, caption =
, spouse =
, issue =
, house = Orléans
, father = Prince Phi ...
*
Princess Maria di Grazia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
, image = Maria Pia de Bourbon, 1909 (2).jpg
, spouse = Prince Luís of Orléans-Braganza(m. 1908; died 1920)
, issue = Prince Pedro Henrique Prince Luiz Gastão Princess Pia Maria, Countess of Nicolay
, house = Bo ...
*
Infanta Maria Teresa of Spain
''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to t ...
*
Infanta Amelia Philippina of Spain
Infanta Amalia of Spain ( es, Amalia de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias; 12 October 1834 – 27 August 1905) was the youngest daughter of Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain. Her eldest brother, Francisco de Asís married Queen Isabella II of Spai ...
*
Princess Eugénie de Leuchtenberg
Sources
* Tagore, Rajah Sir Sourindro Mohun. ''The Orders of Knighthood, British and Foreign''. Calcutta, India: The Catholic Orphan Press, 1884
References
External links
{{Orders of knighthood for women
Saint Elizabeth, Order of
Saint Elizabeth, Order of
Saint Elizabeth, Order of
Saint Elizabeth, Order of
1766 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
18th-century establishments in Bavaria
Awards established in 1766