Order of Ernst August
Encyclopedia
The Order of Ernst August was founded 15 December 1865 by King George V of Hanover
in memory of his father Ernest Augustus I of Hanover
. The order was awarded for both civil and military merit. It was divided in five classes:
. As a result Prussia dissolved the three Hanoverian orders of knighthood. George V and his successors still continued to award the Order of Ernst August, but now as a House Order, in the same manner of many non-regnant royal houses. Between 1865 and 1900, forty two Grand Crosses were granted. Most of them after the royal family's expulsion from Hanover in 1866. Seventeen Hanoverian and twenty five foreign Grand Crosses are recorded. .
The ribbon is scarlet red with two dark blue stripes parallel to each side.
George V of Hanover
George V was King of Hanover, the only child of Ernest Augustus I, and a grandchild of King George III of the United Kingdom. In the peerage of Great Britain, he was 2nd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, 2nd Earl of Armagh...
in memory of his father Ernest Augustus I of Hanover
Ernest Augustus I of Hanover
Ernest Augustus I was King of Hanover from 20 June 1837 until his death. He was the fifth son and eighth child of George III, who reigned in both the United Kingdom and Hanover...
. The order was awarded for both civil and military merit. It was divided in five classes:
- Grand Cross
- Grand Commander
- Commander
- Officer
- Knight
History
In 1866, Hannover was defeated and annexed by Prussia at the end of the Austro-Prussian WarAustro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...
. As a result Prussia dissolved the three Hanoverian orders of knighthood. George V and his successors still continued to award the Order of Ernst August, but now as a House Order, in the same manner of many non-regnant royal houses. Between 1865 and 1900, forty two Grand Crosses were granted. Most of them after the royal family's expulsion from Hanover in 1866. Seventeen Hanoverian and twenty five foreign Grand Crosses are recorded. .
Insignia
The medal is a gold Maltese cross, enamelled white, with small gold ball on eight points and four royal crowns in the corners. At the center is a medallion of red enamel with the monogram of Ernest Augustus (EA), and around, there was a band of blue enamel with the motto of the order "SUSCIPERE ET FINIRE" in gold. The back displays the founding date "DEC MDCCCLXV XV" with the initials of the king who had granted the order George V ("G").The ribbon is scarlet red with two dark blue stripes parallel to each side.