Order of Saints Olga and Sophia

The Royal Family Order of Saints Olga and Sophia ( el, Βασιλικόν Οἰκογενειακόν Τάγμα Ἁγίων Ὂλγας καὶ Σοφίας, Vasilikon Oikogeneiakon Tagma Agion Olgas kai Sofias) was an order of the Greek royal family. Reserved for women, it was the third highest honour of the modern Greek state and the Crown after the Order of the Redeemer and the male-only Order of Saints George and Constantine. It was instituted in January 1936, by King George II in the memory of his grandmother ( Queen Olga) and his mother ( Queen Sophia).

The order was abolished in 1973, by the Greek state and today is awarded only by the head of the former Greek royal family.

Grades

* ''Dame Grand Cross''
* ''Dame Commander''
* ''Commander''
* ''Gold Cross''
* ''Silver Cross''

Grand Mistresses

* 1936 – 1947: Queen Helen, The Queen Mother of Romania (née Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark)
* 1947 – 1964: Queen Frederica (née Princess Frederica of Hanover)
* 1964 – present: Queen Anne-Marie (née Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark)

Recipients

Upon the creation of the Order in January 1936, Greek Princesses and their daughters were invested in order of precedence:
# Queen Helen, The Queen Mother of Romania (née Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark) – Grand Mistress (1936–1947)
# Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
# Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
# Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
# Princess Maria of Greece and Denmark – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
# Princess Aspasia, Princess Alexander of Greece and Denmark (née Aspasia Manos) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
# Princess Eugénie of Greece and Denmark – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
# Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
# Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
# Princess Elizabeth of Greece and Denmark – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
# Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (née Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
# Princess Nina Georgievna of Russia (née Princess Nina Georgievna of Russia) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
# Princess Xenia Georgievna of Russia – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
# The Hereditary Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (née Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
# The Margravine of Baden (née Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
# The Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine (née Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
# Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark - Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
# Princess Marie, Princess George of Greece and Denmark (née Princess Marie Bonaparte) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
# Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
# Princess Alice, Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark (née Princess Alice of Battenberg) - Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
# Princess Françoise, Princess Christopher of Greece and Denmark (née Princess Françoise d’Orléans) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
# Princess Margaret of Prussia – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class

Other dames

* Queen Frederica (née Princess Frederica of Hanover) – Grand Mistress (1947–1964)
* The Duchess of Brunswick (née Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
* Queen Anne of Romania (née Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
* Queen Mary of United Kingdom (née Princess Mary of Teck) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
* Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom (née Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
* Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain (née Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
* The Countess of Barcelona (née Princess María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
* Queen Ingrid of Denmark (née Princess Ingrid of Sweden) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
* Queen Marie-José of Italy (née Princess Marie José of Belgium) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
* Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte of Luxembourg (née Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
* Princess René of Bourbon-Parma (née Princess Margaret of Denmark) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
* Princess Georgina of Liechtenstein (née Countess Georgina of Wilczek) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
* The Duchess of Badajoz (née Infanta Pilar of Spain) – Dame Grand Cross

Current dames

* Queen Anne-Marie (née Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark) - Grand Mistress (1964–present)
* Queen Sofía of Spain (née Princess Sofía of Greece and Denmark) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
* Princess Eiríni of Greece and Denmark - Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
* Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
* The Queen of Denmark – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
* Princess Tatiana Radziwiłł - Dame Grand Cross
* The Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (née Princess Benedikte of Denmark) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
* The Custodian of the Romanian Crown – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
* The Duchess of Soria (née Infanta Margarita of Spain) – Dame Grand Cross
* Princess Alexía, Mrs Carlos Morales (née Princess Alexía of Greece and Denmark) – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
* Princess Theodóra of Greece and Denmark – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
* Crown Princess Pávlos of Greece (née Marie-Chantal Miller) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
* Princess Nikólaos of Greece and Denmark (née Tatiana Blatnik) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class
* Princess Olympía of Greece and Denmark – Dame Grand Cross, Special Class
* Princess Fílippos of Greece and Denmark (née Nina Nastassja Flohr) – Dame Grand Cross, 1st Class

References

External links

The Greek Royal Orders
* The depicted picture is from the book: "Hellenic Orders, Decorations and Medals", Athens 1991, by George J. Beldecos, , © Hellenic War Museum

{{Greek orders timeline

Saints Olga and Sophia
Saints Olga and Sophia, Order of
Awards established in 1936
1936 establishments in Greece
Saints Olga and Sophia