Margrethe II is the Queen of Denmark, as well as the supreme authority of the Church of Denmark and Commander-in-Chief of the Danish Defence. Born into the House of Glücksburg, a royal house with origins in Northern Germany, she was the eldest child of Frederick IX of Denmark and Ingrid of Sweden. She became heir presumptive to her father in 1953, when a constitutional amendment allowed women to inherit the throne.
Harald V is the King of Norway, having ascended to the throne upon the death of his father King Olav V on 17 January 1991.
Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway is the only son of King Harald V and Queen Sonja and heir apparent to the throne of Norway.
Prince Joachim of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, is the younger son of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik. Joachim is sixth in the line of succession to the Danish throne, following his elder brother, Crown Prince Frederik, and Frederik's four children.
The Australian honours system consists of a number of orders, decorations, and medals through which the country's sovereign awards its citizens for actions or deeds that benefit the nation. Established in 1975 with the creation of the Order of Australia, the system's scope has grown since then and over time has replaced the Imperial/British honours system that previously applied to Australians. The system includes an array of awards, both civil and military, for gallantry, bravery, distinguished service, meritorious service, and long service. Various campaign and commemorative medals have also been struck. New honours can be awarded at any time, but conventionally most new honours are awarded on Australia Day and on the Queen's Birthday every year, when lists of new honours are published.
The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a third level military decoration awarded to officers, and since 1993 ratings and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy, and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.
The PDSA Dickin Medal was instituted in 1943 in the United Kingdom by Maria Dickin to honour the work of animals in World War II. It is a bronze medallion, bearing the words "For Gallantry" and "We Also Serve" within a laurel wreath, carried on a ribbon of striped green, dark brown, and pale blue. It is awarded to animals that have displayed "conspicuous gallantry or devotion to duty while serving or associated with any branch of the Armed Forces or Civil Defence Units". The award is commonly referred to as "the animals' Victoria Cross".
The Order of the Dannebrog is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank who formed a single class known as White Knights to distinguish them from the Blue Knights who were members of the Order of the Elephant. In 1808, the Order was reformed and divided into four classes. The Grand Commander class is reserved to persons of princely origin. It is awarded only to royalty with close family ties with the Danish Royal House. The statute of the Order was amended in 1951 by a Royal Ordinance so that both men and women could be members of the Order.
The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on August 21, 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav.
Anne Jahren is a former Norwegian cross-country skier who competed from 1982 to 1990. She won a complete set of medals at the Winter Olympics with a gold in the 4 × 5 km relay (1984), a silver in the 4 × 5 km relay (1988), and a bronze in the 20 km (1984).
The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in warlike operations. The DSM was introduced in 1991 and is the second highest distinguished service decoration in the Australian Honours System. Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal are entitled to use the post-nominal letters "DSM". Since its inception 152 awards have been made—which includes six Bars—with the most recent being announced in the 2017 Australia Day Honours.
Norwegian Civil Defence is the civil defence organization of Norway.
Volker Wieker is the former Chief of Staff of the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, and a general of the German Army. Trained as an artillery officer, Wieker served in every major foreign Bundeswehr deployment since 1996, including Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan.
Cross of Honour/Honor or Honour/Honor Cross may refer to:
The Norwegian Defence Cross of Honour is a medal which is awarded by the commander of the Norwegian Defence forces to persons having performed Meritious work in or for the Norwegian defence forces.
The Honoris Crux of 1975, post-nominal letters HC, is a military decoration for bravery which was instituted by the Republic of South Africa on 1 July 1975. The decoration was awarded to members of the South African Defence Force for bravery in dangerous circumstances. It was the junior in a set of four Honoris Crux decorations in four classes, which together replaced the discontinued Honoris Crux of 1952.
The Defence Service Medal with Laurel Branch is a military medal of Norway. Established on 1 May 1982, the medal is awarded for outstanding or noteworthy service to the Norwegian Armed Forces. It may be awarded to Norwegians and foreigners who are civilians or military personnel.
The Cross for Bravery was instituted by the State President of the Republic of Transkei, for award to all ranks as a decoration for bravery.
The Medal for Defence Service Abroad is a military medal of Norway. Established 1 January 1993, the medal was originally a participant medal awarded for service during military operations that took place in the 1990s. The subsequent establishment of the Medal for Defence Operations Abroad rendered this medal obsolete. However, in 2009 the medal was reintroduced as an achievement medal. The medal was awarded for distinguished bravery and courage, beyond what is normally required during combat operations. The medal's color was changed from bronze to gold, and the ribbons of the medal would vary, depending on the area of operations. During this period of award the medal was always awarded with a rosette. Finally, in 2012 the medal was further changed to a single ribbon design for all awards. The medal may be awarded with rosette for particularly meritorious distinction.
The Decoration for Merit in Gold, post-nominal letters DMG, was instituted by the President of the Republic of South Africa in April 1996. It was awarded to veteran cadres of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the African National Congress, who had distinguished themselves during the "struggle" by outstanding service and utmost devotion to duty.
