REAL E INSIGNE ORDEN DEL TOISÓN DE ORO (Antonio Prieto Barrio)

REAL E INSIGNE ORDEN DEL TOISÓN DE ORO | ROYAL AND INSIGNE ORDER OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE

Creación

Constituida en 1430 por el duque Felipe III el Bueno de Borgoña
Reales Decretos de 26 de julio de 1847 y 28 de octubre de 1851

Finalidad

Es la más alta distinción que puede ser otorgada por el Rey de España. Se han concedido 1204 collares de la Orden por los veintiún soberanos de las distintas dinastías que se han ido sucediendo en la jefatura de la Orden
En la actualidad están entregados 18 collares. Desde 1985, se concede a las mujeres. También se ha concedido a destacadas personalidades que han prestado relevantes servicios a la Corona
S. M. el Rey Juan Carlos I, 1941
S. M. el Rey Constantino II de Grecia, 1964
S. A. R. el Príncipe de Asturias Felipe de Borbón, 1981
S. M. el Rey Carlos XVI Gustavo de Suecia, 1983
S. A. R. el Gran Duque Juan de Luxemburgo, 1983
S. M. I. el Emperador Aki-Hito del Japón, 1985
S. M. la Reina Beatriz I de los Países Bajos, 1985
S. M. la Reina Margarita II de Dinamarca, 1985
S. M. la Reina Isabel II del Reino Unido de la Gran Bretaña e Irlanda del Norte, 1988
S. M. el Rey Alberto II de Bélgica, 1994
S. M. el Rey Harald V de Noruega, 1995
Simeón de Sajonia-Coburgo Gotha, 2004
S. A. R. el Gran Duque Henri de Luxemburgo, 2007
Javier Solana Madariaga, 2010
Víctor García de la Concha, 2010
Nicolas Sarkozy, 2011
Enrique Valentín Iglesias García, 2014
Leonor de Borbón y Ortiz, princesa de Asturias, 2015

Descripción

Este ejemplar está datado en 2002

Comentarios

The Order of the Golden Fleece was established in 1430 under the House of Burgundy
In 1477, it was passed to the House of Hapsburg and was continued under the Spanish branch of the Hapsburgs
The initial Spanish investiture occured in 1519
In 1700, Phillip V and Ferdinand VI united the Order to the Crown of Spain
In 1712, however, the House of Austria reclaimed the Order
Since then, there have been two Orders of the Golden Fleece, one conferred by the Austrian Monarch and the other by the Spanish Monarch
The Order continues to be awarded in modern times by the Spanish monarch, King Juan Carlos
The King has conferred the Order on four non-royal Spaniards -his former military tutor Torcuato Fernández Miranda (whom he created a Duke and gave the Fleece in 1977), the retired head of his household, the Marquess of Mondéjar (who also received it in 1977 and is the only living non-royal knight), the late D. Jose-Maria Peman y Pemartin and, in 1993, on the Duke of Alburquerque (who died in 1994). He has also conferred it on several reigning sovereigns, including the Grand Duke of Luxembourg and King Albert II of the Belgians, although against all precedent both had received the Habsburg Order from the Archduke Otto. The present King has further amended the original constitution of the Order by the admission of three ladies, without promulgating a formal amendment to the statutes, namely Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Queen Margarethe II of Denmark and, in 1988, Queen Elisabeth II of Great Britain. As an Order conferred primarily on foreign Monarchs and members of the Royal Family, it is different in character to other great Collar Orders given by reigning Monarchs such as the Garter, the Seraphim or the Elephant, which are awarded more frequently to subjects of those Crowns. Nonetheless, the present Monarch has been well-advised to remove it from the political sphere and refuse to make it an award for senior Ministers and officials of the Crown. In modern Spain, unlike Great Britain, where there is no real Court and the nobility have few privileges and no public responsibilities, it could be considered inappropriate as a distinction offered to the heads of ancient families close to the Sovereign (as with the Austrian Order, and the Garter and Thistle)
The present members of the Order are, in order of their appointment:
Juan Carlos I Emerit King of Spain (1941)
Constantine II King of the Hellenes (1964)
Felipe Prince of the Asturias (1981), now King of Spain, Chief and Sovereign
Carl-Gustaf King of Sweden (1983)
Jean Grand Duke of Luxembourg (1983)
Akihito Emperor of Japan (1985)
Beatrix Queen of the Netherlands (1985)
Marguerite II Queen of Denmark (1985)
Elisabeth II Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1988)
Albert II King of the Belgians (1994)
Harald V King of Norway (1995)
Simeon of Saxe-Coburg Gotha (2004)
Henri Great Duke of Luxembuourg (2007)
Javier Solana Madariaga (2010)
Víctor García de la Concha (2010)
Nicolas Sarkozy (2011)
Enrique Valentín Iglesias García (2014)
Leonor de Borbón y Ortiz, Princess of Asturias (2015)

Foto © Antonio Prieto Barrio