In the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories, personal bravery, achievement, or service are rewarded with honours. The honours system consists of three types of award:
The Order of Leopold is one of the three current Belgian national honorary orders of knighthood. It is the oldest and highest order of Belgium and is named in honour of its founder, King Leopold I. It consists of a military, a maritime and a civil division. The maritime division is only awarded to personnel of the merchant navy, and the military division to military personnel. The decoration was established on 11 July 1832 and is awarded by Royal order.
An order is a visible honour awarded by a sovereign state, monarch, dynastic house or organisation to a person, typically in recognition of individual merit, that often comes with distinctive insignia such as collars, medals, badges, and sashes worn by recipients.
The fount of honour is a person, who, by virtue of his or her official position, has the exclusive right of conferring legitimate titles of nobility and orders of chivalry on other persons.
Crown Prince Nicholas of Montenegro is a French-born architect and the Head of the House of Petrović-Njegoš, which reigned over Montenegro from 1696 to 1766 and again from 1782 to 1918.
A dynastic order, monarchical order, or house order is an order under royal patronage. Such an order is bestowed by, as a legitimate fons honorum, a sovereign or the head of a once-sovereign ruling family. These are often considered part of the cultural patrimony of the ruling family. Dynastic orders were often founded or maintained to reward service to a monarch or their subsequent dynasty.
The orders, decorations, and medals of Canada comprise a complex system by which Canadians are honoured by the country's sovereign for actions or deeds that benefit their community or the country at large. Modelled on its British predecessor, the structure originated in the 1930s, but began to come to full fruition at the time of Canada's centennial in 1967, with the establishment of the Order of Canada, and has since grown in both size and scope to include dynastic and national orders, state, civil, and military decorations; and various campaign medals. The monarch in right of each Canadian province also issues distinct orders and medals to honour residents for work performed in just their province. The provincial honours, as with some of their national counterparts, grant the use of post-nominal letters and or supporters and other devices to be used on personal coats of arms.
Orders, decorations, and medals of Georgia are the orders, state decorations and medals that are granted by the national government of Georgia for meritorious achievements in national defense, state improvement, and the development of democracy and human rights.
An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is an order of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades and paired with medieval concepts of ideals of chivalry.
Emperor Pedro I of Brazil founded the National Order of the Southern Cross as a Brazilian order of chivalry on 1 December 1822. The order aimed to commemorate the independence of Brazil and the coronation of Pedro I. The name derives from the geographical position of the country, under the constellation of the Southern Cross and also in memory of the name – Terra de Santa Cruz – given to Brazil following its first discovery by Europeans in 1500.
The Order of Karađorđe's Star is Serbia's highest civilian and military decoration. It originated in the Kingdom of Serbia, and was initially awarded exclusively to Serbian citizens in return for services rendered to the Serbian monarchy, the Serb people and the Serbian state, though it is now bestowed upon Serbs and non-Serbs alike. During the Balkan Wars and World War I, the Order was mostly awarded for acts of bravery on the battlefield. The post-war Kingdom of Yugoslavia retained the Order, and it was awarded by the Yugoslav government-in-exile until the end of World War II, in some cases to individuals who collaborated with the Axis powers. Following the war, the monarchy was outlawed and a communist government came to power. Along with other monarchist symbols, the Order was suppressed during the administration of Josip Broz Tito, and replaced with communist decorations such as the Order of the People's Hero. During the Cold War, it had been awarded by the Karađorđević family in exile.
Nigerian National Honours are a set of orders and decorations conferred upon Nigerians and friends of Nigeria every year. They were instituted by the National Honors Act No. 5 of 1964, during the First Nigerian Republic, to honour Nigerians who have rendered service to the benefit of the nation.
The National Decorations System of Romania is divided into six categories, listed below. It was re-established in 1998 after a 50-year period in which Romania used a Soviet-style system of decorations. It is very similar to the system used in Romania during the interwar period.
The Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa is a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Braganza, the former Portuguese Royal Family. The current Grand Master of the Order is Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, the Head of the House of Braganza.
The Order of Prince Danilo I was an order of the Principality and later Kingdom, of Montenegro. It is currently a dynastic order granted by the head of the House of Petrović-Njegoš, Crown Prince Nicholas. It is awarded to prominent champions of the preservation of Montenegrin independence and for other humanitarian, scientific, artistic and pro-social achievements as defined by statute.
The Order of Saint Peter of Cetinje is the a dynastic order of the Royal House of Petrović-Njegoš. As Montenegro is now a republic, the order is distributed as a private house order of the deposed family. The Order is bestowed upon prominent members of the Petrović-Njegoš family, as well as to others.
The Order of Petrović Njegoš was founded by King Nikola I of Montenegro in 1896 to commemorate the 200 years of rule of the Royal House of Petrović-Njegoš.
The Order of the Yugoslav Star was the highest national order of merit awarded in Yugoslavia. It was divided into four classes. The highest class, the Yugoslav Great Star was the highest state decoration awarded in Yugoslavia. The order was mostly awarded to foreign heads of state for the development and strengthening of peace and cooperation between nations.
The orders, decorations, and medals of Malaysia comprise a complex system by which Malaysians and qualified foreigners are honoured by the country's sovereign for actions or deeds that benefit their community or the country at large. Modelled on its British predecessor, the orders, decorations, and medals of Malaysia were created after formation of Malaysia. The honour system came to exist earlier during Federation of Malaya. During the British colonial times, honours were given under the British honour system. Johor was the first state to institute its own honours on 31 July 1880. Then, the other Malay states did the same.
The Sash of the Two Orders was a Portuguese decoration that combined the Grand Crosses of the Military Orders of Christ and Aviz.
