Order of the Oak Tree

Order of the Oak Tree
Awarded by the Duke of Marienbourg
Type	National order
Established	9 January 2023
Motto	Dux ad populum
Awarded for	At His Serene Highness's pleasure.
Status	Currently constituted
Sovereign and Grand Master	Duke Arthur V
Chancellor	The Minister-President
Grades	Knight/Dame
Post-nominals	OC
Statistics
First induction	1 February 2023
Last induction	2023
Total inductees	11
Precedence
Next (higher)	Order of the Orange Blossom
Next (lower)	Order of Mines and Baths
Ribbon bar of the order

The Order of the Oak Tree (Portuguese: Ordem do Carvalho) is a national order of the Duchy of Marienbourg. It was established as a reference to the reigning House of Carvalho-Bruyn, Carvalho being Portuguese for "oak". Appointments are officially at the sovereign's sole discretion, however, by custom, those appointed are indicated by the chancellor of the order who is always the Minister-President of the time, making this the highest honor that can be de facto bestowed by the government. Membership of the order is unlimited and supernumerary.

History

The Treaty of Conditional Concession of Sovereignty and Foundation of the Duchy Symbol of the National Union, signed between Arthur van der Bruyn and his great uncles António and Edson Carvalho, established the Marienbourgish monarchy on 26 December 2022 claiming the properties of the aforementioned brothers as the sovereign territory of that monarchy. However, the independence of Marienbourg from Brazil was only formally proclaimed on 9 January 2023. In the act of proclamation of independence, Arthur, now Duke of Marienbourg, presiding over a committee of notables, established the basic guidelines for the structuring of the state from the which the Constitution of Marienbourg would be enacted, just under a month later. Among these guidelines, he foresaw the creation of chivalrous orders as honors to be granted by the Sovereign.

Taking as inspiration the name of his maternal family, in whose possession is the entire territory of the duchy and which gives its name to the reigning house of House of Carvalho-Bruyn, the Monarch established the Order of the Oak Tree. Its name was chosen, among other reasons, in order to symbolize and strengthen the idea that the throne of Marienbourg is occupied by a legitimate member of the Carvalho family, and that it will always be inherited by it. In its creation, the Duke opted for the order to be as simple as possible in organization, being a single-graded order, following the bureaucratic parameters adopted in Marienbourg.

Composition

Members

Membership in the order is unlimited and it includes the Monarch as Sovereign and Grand Master and the designated heir to the throne. The Monarch alone can grant membership at his own pleasure, meaning it has no requirements for a person to be inducted a member of the order. However, with regard to this order, by tradition, the Monarch almost exclusively appoints as members people appointed by the Minister-President of the hour, who concomitantly occupies the honorary position of Chancellor of the order. Monarchs are known within the order as Sovereign. Male members of the Order are titled "Knights" and female members are called "Dames".

Supernumerary members

In addition, the Order of the Oak Tree includes supernumerary members, who do not count towards the list of regular members. Supernumerary members enjoy of the same title and precedence as any regular member and are usually members of the Marienbourgish Ducal Family, but also members of related royal families (such as the Ebenthali Royal Family). The supernumerarity principle was inspired by the British Order of the Garter's. According to the Ducal House Rules, only the highest national honorary order can adhere to the principle of supernumerary.

Grades

The Duke of Marienbourg is the Sovereign and Grand Master of the order. All deeds granting decorations of the Order must bear the signature of the Sovereign and Grand Master. The Chancellor is empowered to act on behalf of and in place of the monarch if necessary and with the express approval of the monarch; if the monarch is unable to give his consent, it is up to the parliament to sanction the acts of the appointed Regent, who will then act as Grand Master-in-exercise. Members of the order are granted a certificate and are eligible to require a personal coat of arms with the insignia of the Order. A single-graded order, its only ranking is that of Knight/Dame.

Precedence and privileges

Members of this order are assigned positions in the order of precedence, ranking above all others members of equal rankings of whichever orders other than the higher Order of the Orange Blossom. Consorts, children and children-in-law also feature on the order of precedence; other relatives of members, however, are not assigned any special precedence. Generally, individuals can derive precedence from their parents or consorts as long as the recipient lives.

All members ot the order are entitled to the prefixes of "Sir" and "Ma'am". When an individual is entitled to use multiple post-nominal letters, the ones of the order (OC, standing for Ordem do Carvalho) takes precedence. All recipients may encircle their arms with the circlet of the order.

Since the enactment of the Ducal Charter that instituted the Marienbourgish chivalric orders, all members of the order disposes from the same right entitled to parliamentaries and ministries to require a formal privy audience with the Monarch.

Investiture and installation

When any new members of the Order of the Oak Tree are due for installation, an investiture ceremony is due to be held in the Throne Room of the Château de Chêne and to be attended by all members of the order wearing its collar, sash and badge on which two senion knights of the order assist the Sovereign by placing the collar of the order around the neck of the new knight and in the fastening of the riband about the body of the new knight and in the adjustment of the mantle. Nonetheless, due to the factual impossibility of this realization (for many different reasons), the investiture happens in a much more modest way through the conferring of a letter-patent accompanied by a letter from the King and an owath to be sworn by the new members. The new members have in turn to sent the Duke a signed letter confirming that they sworn the oath to the order in order for their appointment to be regularized at the Ducal Office of Nobility and Knighthood.

Insignia and habit

• The collar of the Order consists of
• The badge and star of the Order consists of a
• The ribbon of the Order consists of

Insignia
Collar of the Knights	Riband	Badge/Star

Members of the order

Officers

Name	Designation	Period
His Serene Highness Arthur V, Duke of Marienbourg	Sovereign	9 January 2023 – present
His Serene Highness Arthur V, Duke of Marienbourg	Grand Master	9 January 2023 – present
The Most Worthy Mr. Gustave Lynch	Chancellor	9 January 2023 – present

Knights and Dames

Name	Serie number	Post-Nominals	Known for	Date Appointed
1	Gustave Lynch	FL OC MMT	Minister-President of Marienbourg	1 February 2023
2	Gabriel Torres	OC	Vice President of the Ducal Diet	9 February 2023
3	Jonathan Scherer	OC	President of the Ducal Diet	5 February 2023
4	Fernando Toledo	OC	Member of the Ducal Diet	13 February 2023
5	Princess Nilza of Marienbourg	OC	Princess of Marienbourg	30 July 2023
6	Prince William of Marienbourg	OC	Princess of Marienbourg	30 July 2023
7	Dominic Desaintes		Minister-President of Saint-Castin	30 July 2023
8	Henri Sãens		Prime Minister of Ebenthal	30 July 2023
9	Arthur C. de Tourneau		Archduke of Duckionary	30 July 2023
10	Gabriel Torres		Vice President of the Ducal Diet	30 July 2023
9	Maria I		Queen of Sildavia and Borduria	30 July 2023
10	Cloe de Sancratosia		Sovereign Princess of Sancratosia	30 July 2023
11	Charles Ross		Prince and Viceroy of Raphania	30 July 2023
12	Gilson Müller, 1st Count of Currel	OC	Marienbourgish noble	12 October 2024

See also

• Orders, decorations, and medals of Marienbourg