Order of Elizabeth

Imperial Austrian Order of Elizabeth
Imperial Austrian Order of Elizabeth ;
	Insignia of the order's third grade
Type	Order of chivalry for women
Established	17 September 1898; 1898 - 1918 (National Order); 1918 - present (Dynastic Order); 17 November (Feast day)
Royal house	Habsburg-Lorraine
Religious affiliation	Roman Catholic
Awarded for	General welfare in Religious, Charitable or Philanthropic Merit
Status	Dormant since 1951
Grades	Grand Cross; 1st Class; 2nd Class; Elizabeth Medal;
Statistics
First induction	1898: Countess Irma Sztáray de Sztára et Nagymihály
Last induction	1951: Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen
Total inductees	1121
Precedence
Next (higher)	Order of Leopold
Next (lower)	Order of Franz Joseph
Equivalent	Order of the Iron Crown
	; Ribbon of the order; ;

The Imperial Austrian Order of Elizabeth (German: Kaiserlich österreichischer Elisabeth-Orden), established in 1898 by Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, was an order created for women. The order was named after Saint Elisabeth of Hungary, but it was also founded to honor and memorialize Francis Joseph's late wife, Empress-Queen Elisabeth.

The order was divided into three grades – Grand Cross, 1st Class and 2nd Class. In addition, there was an Elizabeth Medal for civil merit.

Overview

According to medal expert and collector Yuri Yashnev:^[1]

The award was intended for ladies, regardless of social status or religion, for merits in religious and charitable work. The award had four degrees - the Grand Cross, I Degree and II Degree, and also a cross of merit... Awards were made, personally, by the emperor... the badges and insignia of the Order were to be returned to the state upon the death of the member, or upon the advancement from a lower degree to a higher degree... There were 81 awards of the Grand Cross, 332 awards of the I Degree, 500 awards of the II Degree, and 208 awards of the Elizabeth Medal for merit, between 1898 and 1918, when the Order was disbanded with the collapse of the monarchy.

Notable recipients

Austrian

Foreign

Sources

^ Yashnev, Yuri (2003). Orders and Medals of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Archived from the original on 2 April 2009.

[1] Yashnev, Yuri (2003). Orders and Medals of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Archived from the original on 2 April 2009.

[1]

v t e Orders, decorations, and medals of Austria-Hungary
Ancient	Order of the Braid
Empire (Male head)	Order of the Golden Fleece Military Order of Maria Theresa Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Order of Leopold Order of the Iron Crown Order of Franz Joseph Teutonic Order
Empire (Female head)	Order of Elizabeth and Theresa (but male recipients)
Empire (Female head)	Order of the Slaves of the Virtue Order of the Starry Cross Order of Love of the Neighbour Order of Elizabeth
Category:Orders, decorations, and medals of Austria-Hungary

v t e Orders of chivalry for women
Exclusively for women:	Austria: Order of the Starry Cross Order of Love of the Neighbour Order of Elizabeth Bavaria: Order of Theresa Order of Saint Elizabeth Order of Saint Anna Burgundy: Order of the Dames of Rougemont Brunswick: Cross of Merit for ladies Bulgaria: Order of Charity Cambodia: Order of Satrei Vathana Denmark: Ordre de Parfaite Amitié Kingdom of Egypt: Order of the Virtues Ethiopia: Order of the Queen of Sheba Germany - Holy Roman Empire: Order of the Slaves of the Virtue Third Reich: Cross of Honour of the German Mother Greece: Order of Saints Olga and Sophia Order of Beneficence Japan: Order of the Precious Crown Lippe-Detmold: Ordine di Berta Korea: Order of the Auspicious Phoenix Mantua: Order of the Dames of Maria Elisa Mexico: Order of Saint Charles Persia: Order of Aftab Order of the Pleiades Philippines: Order of Gabriela Silang Portugal: Order of Saint Isabel Prussia: Order of Louise Cross of Merit for Women and Girls Ladies Merit Cross Romania: Commemorative Cross for Ladies Order for Merits Russia: Order of Saint Catherine Order of Saint Anastasia (since 2010) Order of the Red Cross for Ladies and Misses Holy See: Golden Rose (from 1759) Saxony: Order of Sidonia Ordine of Anna Maria Saxe-Merseburg: Order of the Skull Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt: Order of the Dames Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt & Schwarzburg-Sondershausen: Medal of Honour of Anna Luisa Serbia: Medal of Princess Nathalie Medal of Queen Nathalie Spain: Order of Queen Maria Luisa Tonga Royal Family Order of Tonga Turkey: Order of Charity Ukraine: Order of Princess Olga United Kingdom: Royal Family Order of George IV Royal Order of Victoria and Albert Royal Family Order of Edward VII Royal Family Order of George V Royal Family Order of George VI Order of the Crown of India Royal Red Cross Royal Family Order of Elizabeth II Royal Family Order of Charles III Württemberg: Order of Olga
Included a class for women:	Anhalt: Order of Albert the Bear Baden: House Order of Fidelity Finland: Order of the White Rose of Finland Hesse: Order of the Star of Brabant Netherlands: Order of the House of Orange Saxon Duchies: Saxe-Ernestine House Order Thailand: Order of Chula Chom Klao Westphalia: Order of the Crown of Westphalia