The Royal and Distinguished Order of Charles III was created in 1771 in gratitude for the birth of his first grandson, which secured the dynasty. Its raison d’être was to reward people who had rendered special service to the king or the crown, regardless of noble titles. As Charles III was devoted to the Immaculate Conception, he placed the order under her protection, with the image of the Virgin in the centre of the necklace. He proclaimed himself head and grand master of the order. The knights who were part of it were of two classes: knights grand crosses and knights pensioners. The motto of the order is “virtue and merit” and its insignia are a cross, a blue silk sash with white outlines and a mantle, the making and wearing of which was perfectly regulated. It had to be white, but the fabric changed, being silk for the great knights and taffeta for the pensioners. The order was reformed by Charles IV in 1804, extending it to a new category, that of supernumeraries, where the band was changed: blue on the sides and white in the centre. The mantle became sky blue, completely studded with stars embroidered in silver, keeping the muceta and the borders the same as the original model.
Collection: Images
Project: 11. Science and culture as representation in Europe., 5. Power and powers in the history of Europe: oligarchies, political participation and democracy.
Chronology: XIX
Scope: Secondary Education, Baccalaureate, University
Resource type: Image
Format: Textile. Silk, half-embroidered silver embroidered thread, trimmings (300 x 320 cm)
Source: Patrimonio Nacional
Language: Spanish
Date: ca. 1804
Owner: Álvaro Romero González (Modernalia)
Identifier: 10102955
Copyright: Patrimonio Nacional
Abstract: Image of the mantle of the Royal Order of Charles III, which belonged to Fernando VII
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