Living members of the orderEdit
Below a list of the names of the living knights and ladies, in chronologic order and with between brackets the date when they were inducted into the Order:
The King of Spain (1941) - Sovereign of the Order since 1977
The Duke of Calabria (1964)
King Constantine II of Greece (1964)
The Prince of Asturias (1981)
The King of Sweden (1983)
Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg (1983)
The Emperor of Japan (1985)
Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands (1985)
The Queen of Denmark (1985)
The Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth Realms (1988)
King Albert II of Belgium (1994)
The King of Norway (1995)
Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria (2004)[9]
The King of Thailand (2006)
The Grand Duke of Luxembourg (2007)[10]
The Duke of Suรกrez (2007)[11]
The King of Saudi Arabia (2007)[12]
Javier Solana (2010)[13]
Vรญctor Garcรญa de la Concha (2010)[14]
Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the French Republic, 2007-2012 and Co-Prince of Andorra (2011)[15]
Austrian OrderEdit
Ferdinand I; Keizer van Oostenrijk
Ferdinand I, Emperor of Austria as Grand Master of the Fleece
Golden Fleece dsc02935
Neck Chain of the Herald of the Order.
The Austrian Order did not suffer from the political difficulties of the Spanish, remaining (with the exception of the British prince Regent, later George IV) an award solely for Catholic royals and nobles. The problem of female inheritance was avoided on the accession of Maria Theresa in 1740 as sovereignty of the Order passed not to herself but to her husband, Francis.
Upon the collapse of the Austrian monarchy after the First World War, King Albert I of Belgium requested that the sovereignty and treasure of the Order be transferred to him as the ruler of the former Habsburg lands of Burgundy. This claim was seriously considered by the victorious allies at Versailles but was eventually rejected due to the intervention of King Alfonso XIII of Spain, who took possession of the property of the Order on behalf of the dethroned emperor, Charles I of Austria. Sovereignty remains with the head of the house of Habsburg, which was handed over in 2007 by Otto von Habsburg to his eldest son, Karl von Habsburg.
Living members of the orderEdit
Below a list of the names of the living knights, in chronological order and with between brackets the date when they were inducted into the Order:
Archduke Heinrich of Austria (1955)
Archduke Franz Salvator of Austria, Prince of Tuscany (1958)
Archduke Joseph Arpรกd of Austria (1960)
The Duke of Bavaria (1960)
Count Johann Larisch of Moennich (1960)
Archduke Karl of Austria (1960) - Sovereign of the Order since 2000
Archduke Andreas Salvator of Austria, Prince of Tuscany (1961)
Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria, Prince of Tuscany (1961)
Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (1961)
Archduke Michael Koloman of Austria (1961)
Archduke Michael Salvator of Austria, Prince of Tuscany (1961)
Archduke Georg of Austria (1961)
Archduke Carl Christian of Austria (1961)
Archduke Joseph of Austria (1961)
King Albert II of Belgium (1961)
Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg (1961)
Prince Albrecht of Hohenberg (1961)
The Duke of Wรผrttemberg (1961)
The Prince of Lobkowicz (1961)
Count Johann of Hoyos-Sprinzenstein (1961)
The Prince of Waldburg-Zeil and Trauchberg (1961)
The Prince of Liechtenstein (1961)
Prince Clemens of Altenburg (1961)
The Duke of Braganza (1961)
Count Joseph of Neipperg (1961)
The Duke of Hohenberg (1961)
The Prince of Schwarzenberg (1961)
Archduke Joseph of Austria (1961)
The Prince of Khevenhรผller-Metsch (1961)
The Prince of Lรถwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1961)
Count Gottfried of Czernin of Chudenitz (1961)
The Prince of Orsini-Rosenberg (1961)
The Prince of Windisch-Grรคtz (1961)
Olivier, Count of Ormesson (1961)
Baron Johann Friedrich of Solemacher-Antweiler (1961)
Baron Nicolas Adamovich de Csepin (1961)
Count Alexander of Pachta-Reyhofen (1961) - Chancellor of the Order
Christoph Cardinal Schรถnborn, Archbishop of Vienna (1961) - Chaplain of the Order
Baron Wulf Gordian of Hauser (1961) - Treasurer of the Order
Count Philipp of Clam-Martinic (1961) - Registrar of the Order
Count Karl-Albrecht of Waldstein-Wartenberg (1961) - Herald of the Order
The Prince of Panagyurishte (2002)[16]
The King of the Belgians (2008)
The Prince of Ligne (2011)
Prince Charles-Louis de Merode (2011)
Archduke Ferdinand Zvonimir of Austria[17]