List of recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion explained

Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion and, until 1830, its counterpart the Order of the Lion Belgium.

The Order of the Netherlands Lion is a high order of chivalry of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Order of the Netherlands Lion was until recently awarded upon eminent individuals from all walks of life, including generals, ministers of the crown, mayors of large towns, professors and leading scientists, industrialists, high ranking civil servants, presiding judges and renowned artists. Since 1980 the Order has been primarily used to recognise merit in the arts, science, sport and literature. The following are recipients within the award.

Knight Grand Cross

Royalty

(List incomplete)

NationalityMilitary RankNameDateRoyal function(s)/Political offices(s)Military offices(s)Comments

Admiral of the Fleet
Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha1865Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth
(1890–1893)
Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet
(1886–1889)
Commander-in-Chief, Channel Fleet
(1883–1884)
PashaKhedive Isma'il of Egypt1866 Khedive of Egypt and Sudan
(1863–1879)

Field marshal
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn23 August 1878Governor General of Canada
(1911–1916)
PashaKhedive Abbas II of Egypt1892Khedive of Egypt and Sudan
(1892–1914)
Prince Henry, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin7 February 1901Prince consort of the Netherlands
(1901–1934)
King Fuad I of Egypt1925King of Egypt
(1922–1936)
Sultan of Egypt
(1917–1922)
Queen Juliana of the Netherlands30 April 1927Queen of the Netherlands
(1948–1980)
Former Grand Master (04/09/1948–30/04/1980)

General
Tisavarakumarn, the Prince Damrong Rajanubhab8 August 1930Prince of Thailand
(1862–1943)
Commanders-in-chief of the Royal Siamese Army
(1887–1890)
Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia7 October 1930Emperor of Ethiopia
(1930–1974)

General

Lieutenant admiral
Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld7 January 1937Prince consort of the Netherlands
(1948–1980)
Inspector General of the Armed forces of the Netherlands
(1970–1976)
Inspector General of the Royal Netherlands Air Force
(1953–1970)
Inspector General of the Royal Netherlands Navy
(1946–1970)
Inspector General of the Royal Netherlands Army
(1945–1970)
Commander-in-chief of the Armed
forces of the Netherlands

(1944–1945)
Husband of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands

Admiral of the Fleet
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma1948Governor-General of India
(1947–1948)
Viceroy of India
(1947)
Chief of the Defence Staff
(1959–1965)
Chairman of the NATO Military Committee
(1960–1961)
First Sea Lord
(1955–1959)
Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet
(1952–1954)
Fourth Sea Lord
(1950–1952)
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother1950Queen consort of the United Kingdom
(1936–1952)
Empress consort of India
(1936–1947)
Wife of King George VI of the United Kingdom
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom1950Queen of the United Kingdom
(1952–2022)
Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands31 January 1956Queen of the Netherlands
(1980–2013)
Former Grand Master (30/04/1980–30/04/2013)
Princess Irene of the Netherlands5 August 1957

Field marshal

Admiral of the Fleet
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh26 March 1958Consort of the United Kingdom
(1952-2021)
Lord High Admiral
(2011-2021)
Air commodore-in-chief of
the Air Training Corps
(1953–2015)
Husband of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, died 9 April 2021
Prince Claus of the Netherlands10 March 1966Prince consort of the Netherlands
(1980–2002)
Husband of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

Field marshal

Admiral of the fleet

Marshal of the air force
King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand12 May 1960King of Thailand
(1946–2016)
Head of the Royal Thai Armed Forces
(1946–2016)

Field marshal

Admiral of the fleet

Marshal of the air force
Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother12 May 1960Queen consort of Thailand
(1950–2016)
Special commander of the 21st Infantry Regiment, Queen's Guard
(since 1959)
Wife of King Rama IX of Thailand
Princess Margriet of the Netherlands19 January 1961
King Hussein of Jordan1964King of Jordan
(1952–1999)
Princess Christina of the Netherlands18 February 1965

Brigadier general

Commodore
King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands27 April 1985King of the Netherlands
(since 2013)
Grand Master (30/04/2013)
Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau25 September 1986
Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands11 October 1987
Emperor Akihito of Japan22 October 1991Emperor Emeritus of Japan
(1989-2019)
Empress Michiko of Japan22 October 1991Empress consort Emerita of Japan
(1989-2019)
Wife of Emperor Akihito of Japan
Queen Máxima of the Netherlands2 February 2002Queen consort of the Netherlands
(since 2013)
Wife of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands

Captain
Pieter van Vollenhoven29 April 2004Husband of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands
King Albert II of Belgium20 June 2006King of the Belgians
(1993–2013)
Queen Paola of Belgium20 June 2006Queen consort of the Belgians
(1993–2013)
Wife of King Albert II of Belgium
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar9 March 2011Emir of Qatar
(1995–2013)
Prime Minister of Qatar
(1995–1996)
Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange7 December 2021Princess of Orange
(since 2023)
Princess Alexia of the Netherlands26 June 2023
King Baudouin of BelgiumUnknownKing of the Belgians
(1951–1993)

Major
Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and AvondaleUnknown
King Gustaf VI Adolf of SwedenUnknownKing of Sweden
(1950–1973)
King Carl XVI Gustaf of SwedenUnknownKing of Sweden
(since 1973)
King George V of the United KingdomUnknownKing of the United Kingdom
(1936–1952)
Emperor of India
(1936–1947)
King Haakon VII of NorwayUnknownKing of Norway
(1905−1957)
King Harald V of NorwayUnknownKing of Norway
(since 1991)

Grand admiral
Prince Henry of PrussiaUnknownCommander-in-Chief of High Seas
Fleet of the Imperial German Navy

(1907−1909)
Queen Margrethe II of DenmarkUnknownQueen of Denmark
(since 1972)
Henrik, Prince Consort of DenmarkUnknownPrince consort of Denmark
(since 1972)
Husband of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
Queen Ingrid of SwedenUnknownQueen consort of Denmark
(1947–1972)
Wife of King Frederick IX of Denmark

Politics and Military

(List incomplete)

NationalityMilitary RankNameDatePolitical offices(s)Military offices(s)Comments

General
Godert van der Capellen14 February 1821Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
(1816–1826)
Commander-in-chief of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army
(1819)
Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Commander (17/11/1817)
Jan Jacob Rochussen10 October 1841 Prime Minister of the Netherlands
(1858–1860)
Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
(1845–1851)
Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Commander (28/11/1840)
Elevated to Commander from Knight (04/07/1829)
Floris Adriaan van Hall2 April 1844Prime Minister of the Netherlands
(1853–1856, 1860–1861)
Schelto van Heemstra18 August 1860Prime Minister of the Netherlands
(1861–1862)
Johan Rudolph Thorbecke7 June 1863 Prime Minister of the Netherlands
(1849–1853, 1862–1866, 1871–1872)
Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Commander (14/01/1851)
Jan Heemskerk1 May 1878Prime Minister of the Netherlands
(1874–1877, 1883–1888)
Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Commander (25/09/1867)
Aeneas Mackay27 May 1905Prime Minister of the Netherlands
(1888–1891)
Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands
(1884–1885, 1901–1905)
Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Commander (17/02/1890)

General
Porfirio Díaz1908President of Mexico
(1876, 1877–1880, 1884–1911)
Pieter Cort van der Linden10 May 1926Prime Minister of the Netherlands
(1913–1918)
Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Commander (1901)
Dirk Fock7 September 1926Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
(1921–1926)
Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands
(1917–1920)
Governor of Suriname
(1908–1911)
Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Commander (10/10/1920)
Tomáš Masaryk1929President of Czechoslovakia
(1918–1935)

Major
Hendrikus Colijn6 January 1937Prime Minister of the Netherlands
(1925–1926, 1933–1939)
Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Commander (30/08/1926)
Willem Lodewijk de
Vos van Steenwijk
30 August 1938President of the Senate of the Netherlands
(1929–1946)
Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Commander (30/08/1933)

General of the Army
Dwight D. Eisenhower6 October 1945President of the United States
(1953–1961)
Supreme Allied Commander Europe
(1951–1952)
Chief of Staff of the United States Army
(1945–1948)

General
Henri Winkelman14 April 1946Commander-in-chief of the Armed
forces of the Netherlands

(1940)

Captain
Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy6 May 1946Prime Minister of the Netherlands
(1940–1945)
Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Knight (28/08/1930)

Lieutenant colonel
Sir Winston Churchill1946Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
(1940–1945, 1951–1955)
Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount
Montgomery of Alamein
16 January 1947Chief of the Imperial General Staff
(1946–1948)
Roelof Kranenburg4 September 1948President of the Senate of the Netherlands
(1946–1951)
Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Knight (30/08/1939)
Willem Drees22 December 1958Prime Minister of the Netherlands
(1948–1958)
Konrad Adenauer1960Chancellor of Germany
(1949–1963)
Walter Hallstein1968President of the European Commission
(1958–1967)

Marshal
Josip Broz Tito20 October 1970President of Yugoslavia
(1953–1980)
Prime Minister of Yugoslavia
(1944–1963)
Louis Beel28 June 1972Vice President of the Council of State of the Netherlands
(1959–1972)
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
(1946–1948, 1958–1959)
Sicco Mansholt18 December 1972President of the European Commission
(1972–1973)
European Commissioner for Agriculture
(1958–1972)
Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Commander (7 January 1958)

Lieutenant
Jelle Zijlstra18 November 1981Prime Minister of the Netherlands
(1966–1967)
Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Commander (27 July 1963)
Richard von Weizsäcker1987President of Germany
(1984–1994)

Second lieutenant
Ruud Lubbers8 October 1994United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(2001–2005)
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
(1982–1994)
Elevated to Knight Grand Cross from Knight (11/04/1978)
Kofi Annan2006Secretary-General of the United Nations
(1997–2006)
Ivan Gašparovič21 May 2007President of Slovakia
(1998, 2004–2014)
Speaker of the National Council of Slovakia
(1992–1998)
Valdas Adamkus2008President of Lithuania
(1998–2003, 2004–2009)
Toomas Hendrik Ilves2008President of Estonia
(2006–2016)
Lech Wałęsa2008President of Poland
(1990–1995)
Abdullah Gül17 April 2012 President of Turkey
(2007–2014)
Prime Minister of Turkey
(2002–2003)
Giorgio Napolitano23 October 2012 President of Italy
(2006–2015)
President of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy
(1992–1994)
François Hollande20 January 2014 President of France
(2012–2017)
Ban Ki-moon19 April 2016 Secretary-General of the United Nations
(2007–2016)
Joachim Gauck7 February 2017President of Germany
(2012–2017)
Mauricio Macri26 April 2017President of Argentina
(2015–2019)
Mark Rutte2 June 2024Prime Minister of the Netherlands
(2010–2024)

Lieutenant admiral
Conrad HelfrichUnknownCommander of the Royal Netherlands Navy
(1945–1948)
Commander of the ABDACOM Naval Forces
(1942)

General
Walter Bedell SmithUnknownUnited States Ambassador to the Soviet Union
(1946–1948)
Commander of the First United States Army
(1949–1950)
Helmut KohlUnknownChancellor of Germany
(1982–1998)

Seaman
Joseph LunsUnknownSecretary General of NATO
(1971–1984)
Cardinal Johannes de JongUnknownArchbishop of Utrecht
(1936–1955)
Martti AhtisaariUnknownPresident of Finland
(1994–2000)
Jan SmutsUnknownPrime Minister of South Africa
(1919–1924, 1939–1948)
Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount AlanbrookeUnknownChief of the Imperial General Staff
(1941–1946)
Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces
(1940–1941)
Commander-in-Chief, Southern Command
(1939, 1940)
Gijsbert Karel van HogendorpUnknownVice President of the Council of State of the Netherlands
(1814–1816)
Cardinal Bernardus Johannes AlfrinkUnknownArchbishop of Utrecht
(1955–1975)

Major-general
Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of AthloneUnknownGovernor General of Canada
(1940–1946)
Governor-General of the Union of South Africa
(1924–1930)

Admiral of the Fleet
Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount
Cunningham of Hyndhop
UnknownLord High Steward
(1953)
First Sea Lord
(1943–1946)
Charles de BroquevilleUnknownPrime Minister of Belgium
(1911–1918, 1932–1934)

Commander

(List incomplete)

NationalityMilitary RankNameDateRoyal function(s)/Political offices(s)Military offices(s)Comments
Jan Willem Louis van Oordt1875Tutor to William III in shipbuildingChief Engineer of the Royal Netherlands Navy
Vice-admiralFrederik Alexander Adolf GregoryUnknown

General
Godfried van Voorst tot VoorstUnknownSecond highest officer in command of the Dutch armed forces during World War IICommander

Knight

(List incomplete)

NationalityMilitary RankNameDateRoyal function(s)/Political offices(s)Military offices(s)Comments
Edward Bok1924Philanthropist, publisher, editor of Ladies' Home Journal, Pulitzer Prize winning authorKnight

Vice admiral
Jean Jacques Rambonnet1924Politician, Minister of the Navy, acting Minister of the Colonies, acting Minister of War, Chief Scout of the NetherlandsNaval officerKnight
Hok Hoei Kan1930Politician and community leader of the Dutch East Indies, member of the VolksraadKnight

Lieutenant admiral
Johan FurstnerNaval officer, Chief of the Naval Staff, Commander-in-Chief of the Naval ForcesKnight
Jacobus Thomas (Tom) de Smidt1985 [1] Academic in the field of Legal historyKnight
Dick Swaab1998[2] Neurobiologist and founder of the Netherlands Brain BankKnight
André Rieu2002Violinist and conductor of the Johann Strauss OrchestraKnight
Børge Ring2003Animated short film writer, director and animatorKnight
Hans van Houwelingen2008Academic, mathematician in the field of medical statistics, biostatisticsKnight
Willem de Vos2017Academic, microbiologistKnight

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jaarboek van de Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde, 2014 · DBNL.
  2. Web site: Prof. Dick Swaab MD PhD. 2020-08-13. ISCOMS. en-US.