Order of the Orange Blossom

Order of the Orange Blossom
Awarded by the Duke of Marienbourg
Type	National order
Established	9 January 2023
Motto	Fac et spera
Awarded for	At His Serene Highness's pleasure.
Status	Currently constituted
Sovereign and Grand Master	Duke Arthur V
Assistant to the Sovereign	Prince Pedro
King of Arms, Register and Secretary	vacant
Grades	Knight/Dame
Post-nominals	FL
Statistics
First induction	1 February 2023
Last induction	2023
Total inductees	11
Precedence
Next (higher)	None (highest)
Next (lower)	Order of the Oak Throne
Ribbon bar of the Order

The Order of the Orange Blossom (Portuguese: Ordem da Flor de Laranjeira) is the highest and most senior national order of the Duchy of Marienbourg. It was established as a reference to the large orange plantations of Orangenbäume, whose fruits are the main export product and source of wealth of Marienbourg. The order is the highest honor in the Marienbourg honors system. Appointments are at the sovereign's sole discretion, and are usually in recognition of a national contribution, for public service, or for personal service to the sovereign. 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.

Inspired by the orange plantations of the municipality of Orangenbäume, which inspired, among other things, the flag of Marienbourg itself, the Monarch established as the first and highest of national honors the Order of the Orange Blossom. 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. Upon being sworn in as the first Minister-President of Marienbourg on 1 February 2023, following the formation of that office, Gustave Lynch was created the first member of the Order of the Orange Blossom.

Composition

Members

Membership in the order is unlimited and it includes the Monarch and the designated heir to the throne respectively as Sovereign and Grand Master and First Assistant to the Sovereign. 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. Monarchs are known within the order as Sovereign and the designated heir to the throne as First Assistant to the Sovereign. Male members of the Order are titled "Knights" and female members are called "Dames".

Supernumerary members

In addition, the Order of the Orange Blossom 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 Assistant to the Sovereign 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 Deputy Grand Master. As Marienbourg's highest honor, the Order of the Orange Blossom exclusively has a King of Arms, who also acts as Register and Secretary, responsible for conferring armorial bearings and register the members of the order in its annals. 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. 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 (FL, stranding for Flor de Laranjeira, for both Knights and Dames) 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 Orange Blossom 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
His Serene Highness Prince Pedro of Marienbourg	First Assistant to the Sovereign	9 January 2023 – present
vacant	King of Arms	9 January 2023 – present
vacant	Register	9 January 2023 – present
vacant	Secretary	9 January 2023 – present

Knights and Dames

Name	Serie number	Post-Nominals	Known for	Date Appointed
1	Gustave Lynch		Minister-President of Marienbourg	1 February 2023
2	Guilherme Wünsch		Member of the Ducal Diet	5 February 2023
3	Pedro Carvalho		Viceroy of Minen	1 March 2023
4	Lucas van der Ley		President of the Republic of Albarena	3 May 2023
5	Ari I		King of Pannonia	20 June 2023
6	Dylan, Margrave Callahan		Imperial Chancellor of Karnia-Ruthenia	1 July 2023
7	Oscar I		Emperor of Karnia, King of Ruthenia	30 July 2023
8	Thomas I		King of Quinta Velha	30 July 2023
9	Bruno I		King of the Hanseatics	30 July 2023
10	Rafael I		King of Luna	30 July 2023
11	Princess Nilza of Marienbourg		Princess of Marienbourg	30 July 2023

See also

• Orders, decorations, and medals of Marienbourg