Order of the Polar Star

The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: Kungliga Nordstjärneorden), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of the Polar Star is intended as a reward for Swedish and foreign "civic merits, for devotion to duty, for science, literary, learned and useful works and for new and beneficial institutions".

For the Mongolian state order, see Order of the Polar Star (Mongolia).
For the private order in Norway, see Order of the Polar Star (Norway).
Royal Order of the Polar Star
Kungliga Nordstjärneorden
Cross and star of the order
Awarded by the monarch of Sweden
TypeFive grade order of merit
Royal houseBernadotte
MottoNescit Occasum (It knows no decline)
EligibilitySwedish and foreign persons
Awarded forUntil 1975: Civic merits, for devotion to duty, for science, literary, learned and useful works and for new and beneficial institutions.
After 1975: Services to Sweden
StatusCurrently constituted
SovereignKing Carl XVI Gustaf
ChancellorSvante Lindqvist [1]
GradesCommander Grand Cross (KmstkNO)
Commander 1st Class (KNO1kl)
Commander (KNO)
Knight/Member 1st Class (RNO1kl/LNO1kl)
Knight/Member (RNO/LNO)
Statistics
First induction1748
Precedence
Next (higher)Royal Order of the Sword
Next (lower)Royal Order of Vasa

1748–1975 (all recipients)
2013–2023 (Swedish princes only)
2023–present (all recipients)

1975–2023 (foreign recipients)
Ribbon bars of the order

Cross and ribbon of a Commander Grand Cross (1975–2023)
Collar of the Order of the Polar Star and the badge of the order

Its motto is, as seen on the blue enameled centre of the badge, Nescit Occasum, a Latin phrase meaning "It knows no decline". This is to represent that Sweden is as constant as a never setting star. The Order's colour is black. This was chosen so that when wearing the black sash, the white, blue and golden cross would stand out and shine as the light of enlightenment from the black surface. The choice of black for the Order's ribbon may also have been inspired by the black ribbon of the French Order of St. Michael, which at the time the Order of the Polar Star was instituted was also awarded to meritorious civil servants. From 1975–2023, the ribbon of the Order was blue with yellow stripes near the edges (i.e., the national colors, but the reverse of the Order of the Sword's yellow ribbon with blue stripes near the edges). The black ribbon was reintroduced in 2023 when guidelines to once again award Swedish honours to Swedish citizens were introduced. Women and clergymen are not called Knight or Commander, but simply Member (Ledamot).

From the reorganization of the orders in 1975 until 2023, the Order was only awarded to foreigners and members of the royal family, often being awarded to foreign office holders (such as prime and senior ministers) during Swedish state visits. It is also awarded to junior members of royal families who would not qualify for the more prestigious Royal Order of the Seraphim. In 2019, a parliamentary committee was instructed to establish guidelines on how to re-introduce the Swedish orders, including the Order of the Polar Star, into the Swedish honours system, and how Swedish citizens again can be appointed to Swedish orders.[2] The committee presented its findings in September 2021 and the Government has declared that a bill on the subject would be presented to the Riksdag on April 19, 2022. The bill passed the Riksdag by a large majority on 19 June 2022. On 20 December 2022, the Swedish Government published a new regulation that repealed the 1974 regulation, and once again opened the Royal Orders to Swedish citizens again and reactivated the Order of the Sword and the Order of Vasa, which came in effect from 1 February 2023.[3][4][5]

Grades

The Order has five degrees:

  1. Commander Grand Cross (KmstkNO) – Wears the badge on a collar (chain) or on a sash over the right shoulder, plus the star on the left chest;
  2. Commander 1st Class (KNO1kl) – Wears the badge on a necklet, plus the star on the left chest;
  3. Commander (KNO) – Wears the badge on a necklet;
  4. Knight 1st Class (RNO1kl/LNO1kl[note]) – Wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest;
  5. Knight (RNO/LNO[note]) – Wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest.

Note: ^ Clergymen and women are not called Knight, but instead made a Ledamot av andliga ståndet ("Member of the Cloth") for priests or a Ledamot ("Member") for Women.

The Order also has a medal: the "Polar Star Medal".

Insignia and habit
  • The collar of the Order is in gold, consists of eleven white-enamelled five-pointed stars and eleven crowned back-to-back monogram "F"s (for King Frederick I of Sweden) in blue enamel, joined by chains.
  • The badge of the Order is a white enamelled Maltese Cross, in silver for a Knight and in gilt for a Knight 1st Class and above; crowns appear between the arms of the cross. The central disc, which is identical on both sides, is in blue enamel, with a white-enamelled five-pointed star surrounded by the Order's motto Nescit occasum ("It knows no decline"). The badge hangs from a royal crown.
  • The star of the Order is a silver Maltese cross, with a silver five-pointed star at the centre. The star of a Grand Cross also has straight silver rays between the arms of the cross.
  • The ribbon of the Order is black.[6] From 1975–2023 it was blue with yellow stripes near its borders (see above). In spring 2013, the Grand Master decided that Swedish royal princes would wear the Order with the original black ribbon, while other members would still use the blue with yellow stripes. From 2023, the black ribbon was used again. The last black ribbon 18kt gold Knight class prior to 2023 was awarded in 1988 to historian George Loper of Bridgeton, New Jersey, for his research which was the basis for the New Sweden Farmstead Museum. This was presented by the King.
  • The Order used to have a distinctive red and white habit worn on formal occasions such as at chapters of the Order. The habit included red breeches and red doublet, both with padded shoulders and white piping, a white sash with a gold fringe around the waist and a red mantle with white lining. The star of the Order was embroidered on the left breast of both the doublet and the mantle. A black top hat with a gold hat band and a plume of white ostrich and black egret feathers and red boots with gilded spurs completed the habit. The collar of the Order was worn over the shoulders of the doublet. Clergymen of the Church of Sweden wore the Order around the neck with a white cassock with a red sash with a gold fringe around the waist and a red mantle with a white lining and with the star of the Order embroidered on its left side.
Ribbon bars (1748–1975; 2023–present)
Commander Grand Cross
Commander 1st Class
Commander
Knight 1st Class
Knight
Ribbon bars (1975–2023)
Commander Grand Cross
Commander 1st Class
Commander
Knight 1st Class
Knight
  • Grand Cross set of insignia
    Grand Cross set of insignia
  • Grand Cross set of insignia (1975–2023)
    Grand Cross set of insignia (1975–2023)
  • Grand Cross in its case of issue
    Grand Cross in its case of issue
  • Grand Cross breast star
    Grand Cross breast star
  • Grand Cross in its case of issue
    Grand Cross in its case of issue
  • Set of the Grand Cross
    Set of the Grand Cross
  • Set of the Grand Cross (1975–2023)
    Set of the Grand Cross (1975–2023)
  • Badge of the Grand Cross
    Badge of the Grand Cross
  • Pre and Post-1975 sets of the Commander grade of the Order
    Pre and Post-1975 sets of the Commander grade of the Order
  • Grand Cross (1975–2023)
    Grand Cross (1975–2023)
  • Grand Officer (Commander 1st Class) Star of the Order
    Grand Officer (Commander 1st Class) Star of the Order
  • Grand Cross in its case of issue
    Grand Cross in its case of issue
  • Pre and Post-1975 sets of the Commander grade of the Order
    Pre and Post-1975 sets of the Commander grade of the Order
  • Grand Cross in its case of issue (1975–2023)
    Grand Cross in its case of issue (1975–2023)

See also

References
  1. "Hovkalender". Riksmarskalkämbetet (Office of the Marshal of the Realm). 2019: 23. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. "Dir. 2019:76 Kommittédirektiv Det offentliga belöningssystemet, de allmänna flaggdagarna och utformningen av anslaget till hovet" (PDF) (in Swedish). Government of Sweden. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  3. "Ett offentligt belöningssystem för Sveriges främsta utmärkelser" (Media Release) (in Swedish). Justitiedepartementet, Regeringskansliet. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  4. "Förordning om Sveriges främsta utmärkelser" (PDF). Svensk författningssamling (SFS 2022:1800) (in Swedish). Regeringskansliet. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  5. Sunnqvist, Martin (30 January 2023). "Det är nytt med vårt nya ordenssystem" (in Swedish). Svenska Dagbladet. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  6. "Nordstjärneorden". Kungl. Maj:ts Orden (in Swedish). Retrieved 18 September 2023.

Bibliography
  • (in Swedish) Per Nordenvall, Kungliga Serafimerorden 1748–1998. Stockholm: Kungl. Maj:ts orden, 1998. ISBN 978-91-630-6744-0
  • Order of the Polar Star, Royal Court of Sweden
  • Hieronymussen, Paul; Struwing, Aage, (phot. ill.); Crowley, Christine (English trans.). Orders and Decorations of Europe in Color . The MacMillan Company. New York, 1967. Originally published as Europaeiske Ordner I Faever. Politikens Forlag, 1966. Color plates # 28-32; text pp. 126–127.
  • Lawrence-Archer, J. H. The Orders of Chivalry from the Original Statutes of the Various Orders of Knighthood and other Sources of Information. London: W. H. Allen and Company, 13 Waterloo Place, Pall Mall, S. W. Publishers to the India Office. 1887.
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