Order of Saint-Charles
The Order of Saint Charles is a dynastic order of knighthood established in Monaco on 15 March 1858.
Award
This order rewards service to the State or Prince. In particular cases, it may be granted to foreigners. It is awarded by the current Sovereign, Prince Albert II.Reception
Except for Members of the Princely Family and foreigners, one can only receive the Order first with the rank of Knight. To be awarded the following higher ranks, one must keep the lower rank for a set length of time:- Officer: four years as a Knight
- Commander: three years as an Officer
- Grand Officer: four years as a Commander
- Grand Cross: five years as a Grand Officer
Funeral honours
- Commanders, Officers and Knights are honoured in the choir of the church and warded by four carabiniers in ceremonial uniform and weapon commanded by a Sub-Officer.
- Grand Crosses and Grand Officers are honoured outside the church, at the beginning and end of the funeral ceremony, by 24 carabiniers in ceremonial uniform and weapon commanded by an Officer.
Classes and design
Knight Grand Cross
The Knight Grand Cross wears the badge of the order on a sash and the star of the order on the left of the breast.There is a golden necklet that is attached to the Order. It has small empty egg-shaped sections that form the necklet. The badge is sometimes worn attached to this collar instead of the sash.
Knight Grand Officer
The Grand Officer wears a badge and a star. The Star of the Order of St. Charles is made of silver. The badge of the Order of St. Charles is worn on a chest ribbon with rosette or on a bow. The star is worn on the right side of the chest.Knight Commander
The Commander of the Order of St. Charles wears the badge on a ribbon around the neck or on a bow on the left shoulder.Knight Officer
The Officer of the Order of St. Charles wears the badge on a chest ribbon with a rosette. The cross has a thinner laurel-wreath than the Knight of the Order of St. Charles.Knight
The Knight of the Order of St. Charles wears the badge of the order on a chest ribbon without rosette.Legal basis
- Sovereign Ordonnance of 16 January 1863 about the Order of Saint-Charles :
- Sovereign Ordonnance of 16 January 186 establishing the statutes of the Order of Saint-Charles :
- Sovereign Ordonnance n° 125 of 23 April 1923 concerning the insignias of the Order of Saint-Charles :
Notable recipients
Grand Crosses
Granted by [Rainier III, Prince of Monaco]
- HRH Duke of Edinburgh 15 February 1951.
- Princess Caroline of Monaco—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy, Head of the Royal Italian Family—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Mireya Moscoso, President of Panama—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Albert II, King of Belgium—Sovereign Ordonnance
- Baroness Elisabeth-Anne de Massy—Sovereign Ordonnance
- Alejandro Toledo, President of Peru—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Abel Pacheco de la Espriella, President of Costa Rica—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Georgi Parvanov, President of Bulgaria—Sovereign Ordonnance .
Granted by [Albert II, Prince of Monaco]
- Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, President of Italy—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Janez Drnovšek, President of Slovenia—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, President of Tunisia—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Stjepan Mesić, President of Croatia—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Traian Băsescu, President of Romania—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Fra' Matthew Festing, Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Francesco Mussoni and Stefano Palmieri, Captains Regent of San Marino—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Danilo Türk, President of Slovenia—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Michel Suleiman, President of Lebanon—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Amadou Toumani Touré, President of Mali—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Joachim Gauck, President of Germany—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Charlene, Princess of Monaco—Sovereign Ordonnance --.
- Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kazakhstan—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Vladimir Putin, President of Russia—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- François Hollande, President of France—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Andrea Belluzzi, Captain-Regent of San Marino -- Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Roberto Venturini, Captain-Regent of San Marino -- Sovereign Ordonnance .
Grand Officers
Granted by [Rainier III, Prince of Monaco]
- Patrick Leclercq, Minister of State of Monaco—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Heir Prince of the Royal Italian Family—Sovereign Ordonnance .
Granted by [Albert II, Prince of Monaco]
- Jean-Paul Proust, Minister of State of Monaco, dead overnight on 7/8 April 2010—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Dalia Grybauskaite, President of Lithuania—Sovereign Ordonnance of 15 October 2012
- Bronisław Komorowski, President of Poland—Sovereign Ordonnance of 17 October 2012
- Anna Komorowska, his wife—Sovereign Ordonnance of 17 October 2012
Commanders
Granted by [Rainier III, Prince of Monaco]
- Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization -- Sovereign Ordonnance .
Granted by [Albert II, Prince of Monaco]
- Max Mosley, Former President of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Bernie Ecclestone—Sovereign Ordonnance .
- Serge Telle, Ambassador of France in Monaco—Sovereign Ordonnance .
Literature
- Paul Hieronymussen, "Orders, medals and decorations of Britain and Europe", London 1975