Megan

Interesting point of view. But there is no comparison between a fantasy like the Grand Duchy of Avram and the legimate descendants of a former ruling house. Avram was made up. The Empire of Ethiopia had a genuine historical existance - and would still be there, like many other former states, if it wasn't for a bunch of opportunists siezing power and kicking the former rulers out. After all, she says tongue in cheek, you live in such a nation - a bunch of opportunists decided that being ruled by us lot across the pond wasn't really on. Fortunately our Royals didn't end up homeless as a result. So I regard former Royal Houses as being kind of semi-legitimate. They aren't nation-states any more, but as many Royal Houses, ruling or deposed, have their own 'household' orders which they pass around amongst themselves, those are still legitimate in a sense because of historical precedent... which would not be the case if I decide to make up an Order of Medal Collectors and award it to you lot (which is pretty much what the guy who invented Avram has done). No legitimacy whatsoever there, it's just a made-up fantasy. Just how to reflect it in a logical manner, though, is an interesting question. Probably a separate entry under the overall 'Ethiopia' section for 'Royal House in Exile' along with the various stages in the country's history (Empire, Italian Rule, People's Democratic Republic, a short-lived state & the current Federal Democratic Republic, if memory serves...). Those orders which are continuations of ones awarded during the Empire period can link back to them - just as orders in, say, present-day Estonia all hark back to ones during the period 1918 - World War 2, when it was an independent state before it got gobbled up by the USSR.

There is, however, a difference between genuine Royal houses in exile and the really fanciful made-up nations and orders, though. The term 'Pretender' has a technical meaning which you as an historian will understand, but which can sound derogatory to those who are not familiar with it. There's a very narrow line of legitimacy between House Orders handed around by Royals who still happen to reign in their country (like the plethora of Malaysian Federation ones) and those maintained by Royals who have been kicked out of their country by republicans. I guess it just means even more different sections on my website!!!!

'Pretender' as you like to put it, established by the Emperor in exile & awarded for distinguished & meritorious service to the Crown Council. Here's the Member badge:

Officer:

Instituted: March 1996. Grades: 5 (Knight Grand Cordon, Grand Officer, Commander, Officer, Member). Commander:

Have added what little I know about contemporary Bulgarian awards... anyone got any pictures to share? http://www.medals.org.uk/bulgaria/republic...aria-r-text.htm

Nice one, Lucasz. High time I did something about modern Bulgarian medals on my site...

Awarded: To mark the marriage of H.R.H. Crown Prince Jean to H.R.H. the Princess Jos?phine-Charlotte of Belgium.

As information, in the UK the 'youth' cadet organisations - catering to people aged 13-18 - are run more like the Boy Scouts, they meet of an evening (with weekends and summer camps of course as well) and adult instructors hold military rank, but on a special 'not subject to mobilisation' contract - you are paid for camps & courses, but not for regular parade nights. This covers the Navy Cadet Corps, Army Cadet Force and Air Training Corps. Some schools - generally the private fee-paying ones - run cadets as an extra activity, they are normally called 'Combined Cadet Force' and students can choose to specialise in naval, military or air training after common basic stuff like marching and shooting. The CCF instructors are normally recruited from the teaching staff, on a similar basis to the independent cadet units, but some schools hire a specialist to run their unit as a full-time job, usually a nice niche for a veteran who enjoys working with young people but doesn't want to teach. At university level, in place of the US ROTC the UK has OTC, which is treated to all extents and purposes as a Territorial Army unit except only open to members of the university at which it is based. Both cadets & instructors are paid for attendance at all parades, and the instructors are mainly full-time serving personnel seconded to the position. Cadets follow a 2-year programme which leads to a commission, and may continue to attend thereafter in more senior positions. The Air Force has similar, but fewer, units - usually several universities in a region share facilities, while nearly all universities have their own OTC unit (although with the recent surge in numbers of universities there is now some sharing, especially when the former polytechnic in a town which already has a university gains University status itself). Navy units are normally only found at coastal universities and often combine with a local reserve unit rather than operate as a separate identity. Unfortunately I don't know how much of the UK model stuck with the Indians after 1947!

Reverse:

Ordre de la R?sistance 1940-1945 Instituted: 30 March 1946 by Grand Duchess Charlotte. Awarded: To civilians for distinguished services to Luxembourg during World War 2. Obverse:

Reverse:

Instituted: 10 May 1923 by Grand Duchess Charlotte. Obverse:

Have you considered the Portuguese version - which is worn on a yellow ribbon? This one looks too light for the French purple.

I am still trying to find a picture of the Navy reverse for my site.

Officer:

Reverse:

Instituted: 12 September 1945. Awarded: For service with the Allies or the Resistance between 10 May 1940 and 8 May 1945. Obverse:

As far as I have been able to discover, despite the bickering during the 1970s during the regime change, it has remained acceptable to wear pre-1974 ('Royal') orders and medals if you received them. There is a military commemoration day during my next visit to Greece so I shall look out for bemedalled veterans and pester them for pictures.

Ordem Nacional do M?rito Cientifico Instituted: 16 March 1993 by President Itamar Franco. Awarded: For outstanding scientific achievement. Grades: 2 (Grand Cross and Commander). Commander:

Grand Cross: Star

Ordem de Rio Branco Instituted: 5 February 1963 by President Jo?o Goulart. Awarded: For distinguished service to the nation. Grades: 5 (Grand Cross, Grand Officer, Commander, Officer and Knight). Grand Cross: Badge

Officer:

Ordem do M?rito Aeron?utico Instituted: 1 November 1943 by President Get?lio Vargas. Awarded: For distinguished service and exceptional contributions to the Brazilian Air Force. Grades: 5 (Grand Cross, Grand Officer, Commander, Officer and Knight). Commander:

Officer: