Fascinating Fridays (Orders of Knighthood Part 5)

To think that I originally planned to do all the knighthood orders in one blog post was crazy. This is already part 5 and there are two more to come. If you have always wondered why Royalty often appear at very formal function wearing coloured sashes you will now find out. We have discussed the origin and rank of the title, Knight, in a former Fascinating Friday post. There are currently six active Orders of Knighthood and two Family Orders of Honour. They all rank in an order of precedence which ranks one above the other in prestige. Normally the date of the specific Order's founding gives it precedence over younger ones but also its exclusivity gives it higher prestige Last week we dealt with the Grand Duchy of Hanoveria's Order of the Polar Star and its interesting history.

Today's order has the least eventful history. It is called the Hispanian Royal Order of the Triad. The fact that it has remained undisturbed since its inception makes it the second oldest order in the world. This gives it its prestige as the second highest honour on our list but it is the highest honour within the borders of the Kingdom of Hispania. The Order of the Triad was introduced to honour those who have done most for the country's foreign relations. As such its first three member were kings, King Ferdinand III of Hispania, King Christian of Scotney and King Richard of Britania. The three kings, who were also best friends is what gave the order derives its name from. The monarch ruling in Hispania is always the Head and Grand Master of the order.

The insignia of the Order of the Triad includes a royal blue sash hung over the left shoulder and set with a three sided star badge set with clear stones.

The order has expanded in recent times to become the highest honour of merit in Hispania but retains its "foreign relations" flavour. There are never more than 30 members although since the 96 Revolution numbers have dwindled. Current members include the Crown Prince Imperial and the Duke of Swann and all of the Hispanian direct Royal Family. Since after the 96 Revolution till 2011 when Queen Maria assumed full responsibility for her duty, the Order of the Triad was officially overseen by a government committee eventually headed by the Duchess of Aragon. She stood in for her cousin as ceremonial substitute Grand Master and formally handed back all her functions to the Queen. Ironically, the Duchess of Aragon was never inducted into the order but wore the insignia for her tenure as official substitute for the Queen.

At the 2009 Annual Knights Meeting, the Order of the Triad was represented by the Duchess of Aragon in the blue dress at right and Princess Isabella, the Queen's sister second from left.

In this photo we see the current Queen Maria's grandparents sporting the Order of the Triad in the 1980's.

The Order of the Triad is also included in Queen Maria's personal Royal Crest. This is required as she is the Grand Master of the Order. Note the blue ribband and badge hanging from the bottom of the crest.