Royal Guelphic Order

Royal Guelphic Order
Royal Guelphic Order ;
	Badge of the Royal Guelphic Order
Awarded by ; ; Kingdom of Hanover
Type	House Order
Motto	Nec Aspera Terrent; (Not afraid of difficulties)
Grand Master	Ernst August V
Grades	After 1841; Grand Cross; Commander 1st Class; Commander 2nd Class; Knight; Cross of Merit
Former grades	Original; Knight Grand Cross; Knight Commander; Knight;
Precedence
Next (higher)	Order of St. George (Hanover)
Next (lower)	Order of Ernst August
	; Ribbon of the order; ;

The Royal Guelphic Order (German: Guelphen-Orden), sometimes also referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent (later King George IV).^[1] Named for the House of Guelph, of whom of the Hanoverians were a branch.

After the defeat and forced dissolution of the Kingdom of Hanover by the Kingdom of Prussia, the order continued as a house order to be awarded by the Royal House of Hanover. Today, its current chancellor is the Hanoverian head of the house, Ernst August, Prince of Hanover. The honour is named after the House of Guelph to which the Hanoverian kings belonged, and its insignia were based on the white horse of that kingdom's arms.

In the United Kingdom it has always been regarded as a foreign order, and even before 1837 members of the order were not entitled to style themselves as "Sir" unless they were also created Knights Bachelor, as many were.

Classes

The Order includes two Divisions, Civil and Military. It originally had three classes, but with several reorganizations since 1841, as house order today it has four classes and an additional Cross of Merit. In descending order of seniority, are:

1815-1841

Knight Grand Cross (GCH)
Knight Commander (KCH)
Knight (KH)

Holders of the respective degrees of the order in Britain were entitled to be post-nominally addressed with the initials, which stand for Knight Grand Cross of Hanover, Knight Commander of Hanover and Knight of Hanover. The initial GCG was also used, and held to be more correct. ^[2]

After 1841

Grand Cross
Commander 1st Class
Commander 2nd Class
Knight
Cross of Merit

The Order

Officers

The Order has six officers: the Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor, the Register, the King of Arms, the Genealogist, and the Secretary.

Officers until 1837

The first six officers were:

Chancellor: Count Ernst Friedrich Herbert von Münster
Vice-Chancellor: Georg Nieper
Secretary: Ludwig Moeller
King of Arms: Sir George Nayler
Genealogist: August Neubourg
Register: Sir William Woods

Officers since 1987

Chancellor: Ernst August, Prince of Hanover

Notable members

Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS.
William Herschel
Sir Augustus d'Este
Sir John Franklin
Sir Edward Cromwell Disbrowe

References

^ United Kingdom: The Royal Guelphic Order. Medals of the World, Megan C. Robertson. 2 April 2007
^ Old Days in Diplomacy, Recollections of a Closed Century, by the Eldest Daughter of the late Sir Edward Cromwell Disbrowe, G.C.G., Charlotte Anne Albinia Disbrowe, London, 1903

External links

Media related to Royal Guelphic Order at Wikimedia Commons

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[1] United Kingdom: The Royal Guelphic Order. Medals of the World, Megan C. Robertson. 2 April 2007

[2] Old Days in Diplomacy, Recollections of a Closed Century, by the Eldest Daughter of the late Sir Edward Cromwell Disbrowe, G.C.G., Charlotte Anne Albinia Disbrowe, London, 1903

[1]

[2]

v t e Orders, decorations, and medals of the German Empire
Kingdom of Prussia	Order of the Black Eagle Order of Merit of the Prussian Crown Order of the Red Eagle Order of the Crown House Order of Hohenzollern Pour le Mérite Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg) Order of Louise Wilhelm-Orden
Kingdom of Bavaria	Order of Saint Hubert Military Order of Max Joseph Military Merit Order (Bavaria) Order of Theresa Order of Saint Elizabeth Royal Order of Saint George Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown Order of Saint Michael (Bavaria) Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art Order of Louis (Bavaria) Medical military Order
Kingdom of Saxony	Order of the Rue Crown Military Order of St. Henry Albert Order Civil Order of Saxony Order of Sidonia Order of Maria Anna
Kingdom of Württemberg	Order of the Crown (Württemberg) Military Merit Order (Württemberg) Friedrich Order Order of Olga
Kingdom of Hanover	Order of St. George Royal Guelphic Order Order of Ernst August
Grand Duchy of Baden	Military Karl-Friedrich Merit Order Order of Berthold the First Order of the Zähringer Lion House Order of Fidelity
Grand Duchy of Hesse	House Order of the Golden Lion Ludwig Order Order of Philip the Magnanimous Order of the Star of Brabant General Honor Decoration
Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel	House Order of the Golden Lion Wilhelm Order Order of the Iron Helmet
Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt	Order of Philip the Magnanimous
Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin	Order of the Griffon (Mecklenburg) House Order of the Wendish Crown
Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz	Order of the Griffon (Mecklenburg) House Order of the Wendish Crown
Grand Duchy of Oldenburg	House and Merit Order of Peter Frederick Louis Friedrich-August Cross
Duchy of Saxe-Weimar	Order of the White Falcon
Duchy of Brunswick	Order of Henry the Lion
Duchy of Nassau	Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau Order of Adolphe of Nassau
Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg	Saxe-Ernestine House Order
Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha	Saxe-Ernestine House Order (2006: Saxe-Coburg-Gotha House Order)
Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen	Saxe-Ernestine House Order
Duchy of Anhalt	Order of Albert the Bear Order of Merit for Science and Art
Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen	House Order of Hohenzollern
Principality of Hohenzollern-Hechingen	House Order of Hohenzollern
Principality of Lippe-Detmold	Order of the Cross of Honour (Lippe) Order of Leopold (Lippe) Order of Berta Order of the Rose of Lippe
Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe	Order of the Cross of Honour (Lippe)
Principality of Reuss	Order of the Cross of Honour (Reuss)
Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt	Order of the Cross of Honour (Schwarzburg)
Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen	Order of the Cross of Honour (Schwarzburg)
Free cities	Hanseatic Cross