Order of St. Prince Lazar

The Order of Saint Prince Lazar (Serbian: Орден Светог кнеза Лазара/Orden Svetog kneza Lazara) is a chivalric order created by King Alexander I of Serbia to commemorate the five hundredth anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo that took place on the 28 June 1389. It must not be confused with the Order of Saint Lazarus. The order is named after Prince Lazar who commanded the Serbian armies in the battle. The Order is worn only by the King of Serbia / King of Yugoslavia and by his Crown Prince (when of majority).

Order of Saint Prince Lazar
Grand Collar Set of the Order
Awarded by Kingdom of Serbia / Kingdom of Yugoslavia
TypeDynastic Order
Established28 June 1889
Royal houseObrenović (until 1903)
Karađorđević (from 1903)
Awarded forMonarch and Heir apparent (only)
SovereignCrown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia
GradesKnight Grand Collar
Statistics
Total inductees7
Precedence
Next (lower)Royal Order of the Star of Karađorđe

History

The order of Saint Prince Lazar was instituted by the Decision of the Parliament, signed by the King Aleksandar I, to commemorate the fifth centenary of the Battle of Kosovo (28 June 1389), that ended in the collapse of the medieval Serbian state. Saint Prince Lazar, of the Hrebeljanović family, commanded the Serbian armies that were defeated by the Ottoman Sultan Murat I. The Sultan was assassinated by Serbian knight Miloš Obilić, while captured the Serbian Prince was beheaded by the victorious Turks. The cult of the Saint Prince was very strong among Serbs, and the event was reckoned to be the paramount one in the entire history of Serbs. The commemoration of the 500th Anniversary took form of the Anointment of the King, and the Collar of Saint Prince Lazar ordered to be made by Nicolaus und Dunker of Hannau (Germany). The Order is worn only by the King of Serbia and by his Crown Prince (when of majority). Since inception, the Order has been worn only by the following:

Rewarding

The Collar of the Order was allowed to be worn only by the ruler of Serbia (later Yugoslavia) and the heir to the throne:

NameDate AwardedNotes
King Alexander I of Serbia 28 June 1889 First holder of order after establishment
King Peter I of Serbia 15 June 1903 Second holder of order from rival dynasty
Crown Prince George of Serbia 27 August 1905 Abdicated 27 March 1909
King Alexander I of Yugoslavia 27 March 1909 Took order after brother abdication
King Peter II of Yugoslavia 28 March 1941 Got order underage
Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia 17 July 1963 In exile
Hereditary Prince Peter of Yugoslavia 5 February 1998 In exile

Sign and a chain of the Order

Sign and a chain of the Order were made of gold and richly decorated with rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds and pearls. Order for production was the German firm Nicolaus und Dunker. Sketches awards carried a professor of archeology Michael Valtrović.

References

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