Pre WW1 UK medal bar with the Portugal and Spanish awards

[Noor]

Hi guys,

Maybe some of fellow collectors from Spain and Portugal can help with the medal bar below. I just received this one and it is posted under British section but I think it would be relevant to put it up here as well.

This medal bar holds:

- King George V Coronation medal, 1911

- Spanish Cross of Order of Military Merit (peacetime ribbon)

- Portugal Don Carlos I Coronation Medal, 1889 (awarded from 1908) –wrong way around.

Like some British collector said, owner of this set was probably member of British Royal Household (with some Portugal connection?), clerk in the British Embassy or crew member of Royal Yacht.

Maybe someone here knows exact criteria’s, how often at this time Cross of Spanish Military Merit Order and Portugal Don Carlos I Coronation Medal was awarded to British, etc? Also are there any lists of recipients and is there any chance to ID that set? Every information piece would help!

Kind Regards,

Timo aka Noor

[Kev in Deva]

Hallo Noor great looking bar, some info with regards King Carlos of Portugal:-

Carlos became King on 19 October 1889. Colonial treaties with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (one signed in August 1890 that defined their African borders along the Zambezi and Congo rivers and another signed on 14 October 1899, that confirmed colonial treaties of the 17th century) stabilised the situation in Africa. These agreements were however unpopular in Portugal where they were seen as being to the disadvantage of the country.

Domestically, Portugal was twice declared bankrupt - on 14 June 1892, and again on 10 May 1902 - causing industrial disturbances, socialist and republican antagonism and press criticism of the monarchy. Carlos responded by appointing João Franco as prime minister and subsequently accepting parliament's dissolution.

As a patron of science and the arts, King Carlos took an active part in the celebration of the 500th anniversary (in 1894) of the birth of Prince Henry the Navigator. The following year he decorated the famous Portuguese poet João de Deus in a ceremony in Lisbon. Carlos took a personal interest in deep-sea and maritime exploration, publishing an account of his own studies in this area.

On 1 February 1908 the royal family returned from the palace of Vila Viçosa to Lisbon. They travelled by train to Barreiro and, from there, they took a steamer to cross the Tagus River and disembarked at Cais do Sodré in central Lisbon. On their way to the royal palace, the open carriage with Carlos I and his family passed through the Terreiro do Paço fronting on the river. While crossing the square, shots were fired from the crowd by two republican activists: Alfredo Costa and Manuel Buiça.

Buiça, a former army sergeant and sharpshooter, fired five shots from a rifle hidden under his long overcoat. The king died immediately, his heir, Luís Filipe, was mortally wounded, and Prince Manuel was hit in the arm. The Queen alone escaped injury. The two assassins were killed on the spot by police and bodyguards; an innocent bystander was also killed in the confusion. The royal carriage turned into the nearby Navy Arsenal, where, about twenty minutes later, the Prince Royal Luis Filipe died. Several days later, the younger son, Prince Manuel, was proclaimed King of Portugal; he was the last of the Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha dynasty and the last king as well.

Carlos was married to Princess Princess Amélie of Orléans in 1886. She was daughter of Prince Philippe, Count of Paris and Princess Marie Isabelle of Orléans. Their children were:

Luis Filipe, Duke of Braganza (1887–1908).

Infanta Maria Ana of Portugal (1888).

Manuel II, King of Portugal between 1908 and 1910 (1889–1932).

Maria Pia de Saxe-Coburgo e Bragança (1907–1995) had claimed (many years after his death) that she was the bastard daughter of King Carlos I by Maria Amélia Laredó e Murça.

Kevin in Deva. :beer:

[peron]

Hi

Nice set......

Here is one coronation medal from my collection in the silver version....

Best regards

P.

Edited September 23, 2013 by peron

[Antonio Prieto]

The silver cross of the Order of Military Merit (white badge) on the bar is the model or class to reward the services provided by all kinds of troops, from soldier to sergeants in these times. Also for the crown and the coat of arms is por the period 1875-1931

This special services cross shall apply to reward the authors of works, memoirs, works and inventions related to the military and, in general, is a recognized as useful to the Army

For more information about this order please see

http://www.coleccionesmilitares.com/medallas/texto/omm18751939.htm

and

http://www.coleccionesmilitares.com/medallas/texto/estudioomm.htm

Edited September 24, 2013 by Antonio Prieto