DID YOU KNOW ?
ADDITIONAL SPLENDID ORDERS , DECORATIONS AND MEDALS OF MONACO
Three others Orders were created in
the XX century during the reign of Prince Rainier III . These are :
THE ORDER OF THE CROWN
Created by decree on July 20 , 1960 . This medal is awarded to those people , who have done something exceptional or by their exceptional conduct . There are the same five categories of merit that the Order of St Charles has .
Recipients include : Princess Charlotte , Duchess of Valentinois ( grandmother of Prince Albert II ); Princess Benedikte of Denmark .
THE ORDER OF GRIMALDI
Created by decree on November 18 , 1954 . This medal is to reward those people who have contributed to the prestige of the Principality with distinction . There are also the same five categories of merit .
Recipients include : Prince Albert ’ s youngest sister , Princess Stéphanie as a Dame Grand Cross ; Jacques , Heriditary Prince of Monaco , and Princess Gabriella ; Mr Bernard Barsi , exarchbishop of Monaco ; writer and historian Jean des Cars .
THE ORDER OF CULTURAL MERIT
Created by decree on December 31 , 1952 . This medal is to reward those people with distinction , who have participated in the arts , letters and science through their work or teaching in Monaco . Or have contributed in those areas and extended the intellectual influence of the Principality , even outside of Monaco . There are three categories of merit : Commander , Officer and Knight .
Among the Commanders are : opera singers Cecilia Bartoli , Placido Domingo , Luciano Pavarotti , Ruggero Raimondi ; musician Msti slav Rostropovich ; choreographer Jean-Christoph Maillot ; actor Robert Hossein ; couturier Pierre Cardin ; painter and sculptor Sacha Sosno .
Officers : conductor James DePreist ; jazz musician Markus Miller ; Irina Bokova , the former Director-General of UNESCO ( 2009 – 2017 ).
Knights : actress Danielle Darrieux ; violinist Maxim Vengerov .
There are also three medals and one decoration :
THE MEDAL OF HONOUR
Created by decree on February 5th 1894 . This medal is awarded for exceptional devotion to duty in the civil and military service . There are three categories of reward gold , silver and bronze . In January , 2020 Monaco ’ s Formula 1 racing star Charles Leclerc was presented with the Medal of Honour .
THE MONACO RED CROSS MEDAL
Created by decree on October 16 , 1950 . It is awarded to those for their devotion and exceptional service to the Red Cross , either on a national or international level . There are three categories of merit silver gilt , silver and bronze . Princess Grace proudly wore her Red Cross honorary medal in 1959 . She led the Monaco Red Cross for many years .
CITATION FOR EXCEP- TIONAL SERVICE
This award was established on April 7 , 1951 . This citation is awarded for exceptional service , acts of courage or for devotion to duty and exceptional service by the military in the service of the Prince . This clip is worn on top of the ribbon on the ‘ medal of honour ’ first category . There are four different categories of clips gold , silver gilt , silver and bronze .
THE MONACO BLOOD DONOR MEDAL
Created by decree on July 30 , 1993 . This medal is awarded to blood donors for their devotion and merits . There are three categories of merit : silver gilt ( for 100 donations ), silver ( for 60 donations ) and bronze ( for 30 donations ). Typically awarded during the Fête Nationale , for example to mark the 2019 Monaco National Holiday , H . S . H . Prince Albert II presented Monaco Blood Donor Medals in the Throne Room at the Prince ’ s Palace .
Hello Monaco is very appreciative of the kind assistance of the audio-visual archives of Monaco who provided the illustrations .
The Monaco Red Cross medals
The colours of the ribbon are traditionally Monegasque — red and white . There are five categories of merit of the Order : Knight Grand Cross , Knight Grand Officer , Knight Commander , Knight Officer , Knight .
One might think that the Order of St Charles is named after Prince Charles III , as well as the Monte-Carlo district with its famous Casino . But actually it is named after a different Charles : St Charles Borromeo . Carlo Borromeo was a sixteenth-century archbishop of Milan , a member of both the Borromeo family and of the Medicis and he was a nephew of Pope Pius IV . Charles III chose Carlo Borromeo as his personal patron saint , naming Saint Charles Church and the highest chivalric order in the Principality after him as well . It ’ s interesting to know that the nephew of the ruling Prince , Pierre Casiraghi , has married Beatrice Borromeo who is a direct descendant of St Carlo on her father ’ s side . The couple have two sons both having the name of their famous ancestor — Stefano Ercole Carlo and Francesco Carlo Albert .
© Daniel Mille - Archives du Palais Princier de Monaco
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