List of knights grand cross of the Military Order of William explained

This is a list of knights Grand Cross of the Military Order of William. Established in 1815 by Willem I, it is the oldest and highest honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The order is only awarded for acts of extreme bravery. Yet in the 19th century, the rank of knight grand cross was commonly awarded to foreign monarchs as a mark of respect and diplomacy. It has not been awarded since 1954, yet the Dutch monarch, as sovereign of the order, wears the insignia of knight grand cross.

Willem I

ImageNameLifeDateCountryNotes
Willem, Prince of Orange[1] 1792–18498 July 1815Later Willem II, King of the Netherlands
Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen, Count of Doggerbank1735–18198 July 1815
Jonkheer Jan Willem Janssens1762–18388 July 1815
Leopold, Count of Limburg Stirum1758–18408 July 1815
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington[2] 1769–18528 July 1815Also Prince of Waterloo in the Dutch nobility
Prince Wilhelm of Prussia1783–18518 July 1815
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Prince of Wahlstatt1742–18198 July 1815
Baron Friedrich Wilhelm of Bülow, Count of Dennewitz1755–18168 July 1815
Count August Neidhardt of Gneisenau1760–18318 July 1815
Prince Christian of Hesse-Darmstadt1763–18303 August 1815 Hesse
Baron Karl von Vincent1757–18343 August 1815
Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg[3] 1771–182027 August 1815
Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly1761–181827 August 1815
Karl Philipp, Prince of Wrede[4] 1767–183827 August 1815 Bavaria
Wilhelm, Crown Prince of Württemberg[5] 1781–186427 August 1815 WürttembergLater Wilhelm I, King of Württemberg
Jonkheer Theodorus Frederik van Capellen1762–182420 September 1816
Edward Pellew, 1st Baron Exmouth1757–183320 September 1816Later 1st Viscount Exmouth
Alexander I, Emperor of Russia[6] 1777–182519 November 1818
Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich of Russia[7] 1779–183119 November 1818
George, Prince Regent of the United Kingdom[8] 1762–183027 November 1818Later George VI, King of the United Kingdom
Zeno Willem Anne Lodewijk van Tengnagell1783–183624 May 1821
Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia[9] 1770–18409 July 1821
Cornelis Rudolphus Theodorus, Baron Krayenhoff1758–184012 May 1823
Louis Antoine, Dauphin of France1775–184413 May 1825 France
1757–183613 May 1825 France
Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia[10] 1796–185511 May 1826
Hendrik Merkus, Baron de Kock[11] 1779–184525 October 1830
Prince Frederik of the Netherlands[12] 1797–188118 August 1831
David Hendrik, Baron Chassé1765–184925 December 1831

Willem II

ImageNameLifeDateCountryNotes
Friedrich Wilhelm IV, King of Prussia[13] 1795–18619 February 1842
Louis Philippe I, King of the French[14] 1773–185022 March 1842 France
Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach[15] 1792–18628 October 1842Commander of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army
Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia1798–18494 November 1843

Willem III

ImageNameLifeDateCountryNotes
Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich-Erevansky, Prince of Warsaw1782–185619 April 1849
Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary[16] 1830–191621 June 1849
Frederik VII, King of Denmark[17] 1808–186321 June 1849
Oscar I, King of Sweden and Norway[18] 1799–185921 June 1849 Sweden-Norway
Ernst August, King of Hanover[19] 1771–18513 July 1849 Hanover
Alexander II, Emperor of Russia[20] 1818–188113 September 1855
Napoléon III, Emperor of the French1808–187313 September 1855
Prince Aleksandr Ivanovich Baryatinsky1815–187919 February 1860
Jan van Swieten1807–188812 May 1874
Albert, King of Saxony[21] 1828–19029 July 1878 Saxony
Friedrich, German Crown Prince and Crown Prince of Prussia[22] 1831–188823 August 1878Later Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia
Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia[23] 1828–188523 August 1878
Alexander III, Emperor of Russia[24] 1845–189417 March 1881
Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia[25] 1859–19418 September 1889Last awarded for diplomatic purposes

Wilhelmina

ImageNameLifeDateCountryNotes
Joannes Benedictus van Heutsz1851–192414 March 1903Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (1904–1909)
George VI, King of the United Kingdom[26] 1895–19521 July 1946
Franklin D. Roosevelt1882–194515 April 1948Posthumously awarded

Juliana

ImageNameLifeDateCountryNotes
Princess Wilhelmina of the Netherlands[27] 1880–19624 September 1948Upon her abdication as Queen of the Netherlands
Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia[28] 1892–19753 November 1954

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Militaire Willems-Orde: Oranje-Nassau, Willem Frederik George Lodewijk, Prins van. Military William Order: Orange-Nassau, William Frederick George Louis, Prince of. Ministerie van Defensie. nl. 3 May 2020. 8 July 1815.
  2. Web site: Militaire Willems-Orde: Wellesly 1st Duke of Wellington KG GCB, Arthur . Military William Order: Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington KG GCB, Arthur . Ministerie van Defensie. nl. 22 December 2020 . 8 July 1815.
  3. Military William Order: Schwarzenberg, Karl Phillip Fürst zu. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  4. Military William Order: Wrede, Carl Philipp Joseph Fürst von. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  5. Web site: Militaire Willems-Orde: Würtemberg, Friedrich Wilhelm Carl Prinz von . Military William Order: Württemberg, Frederick William Charles, Prince of. Ministerie van Defensie. nl. 5 August 2020. 27 August 1815.
  6. Web site: Militaire Willems-Orde: Romanov, Aleksandr I Pavlovitsj . Military William Order: Romanov, Alexander I Pavlovich . Ministerie van Defensie. nl. 2 November 2020 . 19 November 1818.
  7. Web site: Militaire Willems-Orde: Romanov, Konstantin Pavlovitsj . Military William Order: Romanov, Konstantin Pavlovich . Ministerie van Defensie. nl. 21 December 2020 . 19 November 1818.
  8. Web site: 27 November 1818 . Militaire Willems-Orde: Wales, George Augustus Frederick, Prince of . Military William Order: Wales, George Augustus Frederick, Prince of . 12 March 2016 . Ministerie van Defensie . nl.
  9. Militaire Willems-Orde: Preussen, Friederich Wilhelm III von, (in Dutch)
  10. Web site: 11 May 1826. Militaire Willems-Orde: Romanov, Nicolaas I Pavlovitsj. Military William Order: Romanov, Nicholas I Pavlovich. 7 June 2020. Ministerie van Defensie. nl.
  11. Web site: H.M. baron de Kock. Parlementair Documentatie Centrum. nl. 4 October 2014.
  12. Web site: Militaire Willems-Orde: Oranje-Nassau, Willem Frederik Karel, Prins van. Military William Order: Orange-Nassau, William Frederick Charles, Prince of. Ministerie van Defensie. nl. 3 May 2020. 18 August 1831.
  13. Militaire Willems-Orde: Preussen, Friederich Wilhelm IV von, (in Dutch)
  14. Militaire Willems-Orde: Bourbon, Louis Phillip prince de (in Dutch)
  15. Web site: Militaire Willems-Orde: Saxen-Weimar-Eisenach, Karl Bernhard Herzog von . Military William Order: Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Charles Bernhard Duke of . Ministerie van Defensie. nl. 6 August 2020. 8 October 1842.
  16. Military William Order: Franz Joseph I. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  17. Web site: Militaire Willems-Orde: Frederik VII. Military William Order: Frederick VII. Ministerie van Defensie. nl. 9 May 2020. 21 June 1849.
  18. Web site: Militaire Willems-Orde: Wales, Oscar I.. Military William Order: Oscar I. Ministerie van Defensie. nl. 3 May 2020. 21 June 1849. 6 August 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200806010441/https://www.defensie.nl/onderwerpen/onderscheidingen/dapperheidsonderscheidingen/databank-dapperheidsonderscheidingen/1849/06/21/oscar-i. live.
  19. Militaire Willems-Orde: Ernst August (in Dutch)
  20. Web site: Militaire Willems-Orde: Romanov, Aleksandr II Nikolajevitsj . Military William Order: Romanov, Alexander II Nikolaevich . Ministerie van Defensie. nl. 12 March 2016. 13 September 1855.
  21. Militaire Willems-Orde: Sachsen, Friedrich August Albert Anton Ferdinand Joseph Karl Maria Baptist Nepomuk Wilhelm Xaver Georg Fidelis van (in Dutch)
  22. Militaire Willems-Orde: Preussen, Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl Prinz von (in Dutch)
  23. Web site: Militaire Willems-Orde: Preussen, Friedrich Karl Nicolaus Prinz von . Military William Order: Prussia, Frederick Charles Nicholas Prince of. Ministerie van Defensie. nl. 13 June 2020. 23 August 1878.
  24. Web site: Militaire Willems-Orde: Romanov, Aleksandr III Nikolajevitsj . Military William Order: Romanov, Alexander III Alexandrovich . Ministerie van Defensie. nl. 12 March 2016. 17 March 1881.
  25. Militaire Willems-Orde: Preussen, Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albrecht Prinz von (in Dutch)
  26. Web site: 1 July 1946 . Militaire Willems-Orde: Winsor, Albert Frederick Arthur George of . Military William Order: Windsor, Albert Frederick Arthur George of . Ministerie van Defensie . nl.
  27. Web site: Militaire Willems-Orde: Oranje-Nassau, Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria, Prinses van. Military William Order: Orange-Nassau, Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria, Princess of. Ministerie van Defensie. nl. 3 May 2020. 4 September 1948.
  28. .

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