What medal/order is Wilhelm II wearing around his neck?

[KarlstonMarcks]

Hello again! This is my second ever post and i was wondering if anyone knowns what medal Emperor Wilhelm II is wearing around his neck and i was also wondering what the badges on his chest are. I know about the Order of St. Olav and also the Order of the Norwgian Lion but what are the other?

 

Here is a link to the image: Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany

 

[Alex K]

Almost certainly this one, also around the neck,  signifying grand master of the johanniter order

 

[JohanH]

Here is my take on the orders:

 

 

1. Grand master of the Johanniter order (just as Alex say)

2. Jerusalem cross

3. Bulgarian Order of civil merit?

4. Norwegian Grand Cross of Order of Saint Olav

5. Norwegian Order of Lion

6. Adjutants badge

7. Sovereign order of Malta

Edited November 24, 2022 by JohanH

[922F]

Expect that's a Military Order of Savoy vice Bulgar CMO, given apparent ribbon color, suspension crown contour & shape of wreath between arms.  Otherwise agree with Johan.   One of the few images of Norwegian Order of Lion insignia being worn.  

Edited November 25, 2022 by 922F
spelchek

[GdC26]

9 hours ago, 922F said:

Expect that's a Military Order of Savoy vice Bulgar CMO, given apparent ribbon color, suspension crown contour & shape of wreath between arms.  Otherwise agree with Johan.   One of the few images of Norwegian Order of Lion insignia being worn.  

I'm not sure about the identification of 3 as either the Bulgarian order of civil merit or the Italian order of Savoy, if only because Wilhelm II appears to be wearing a presumably Norwegian (rather than Danish) admiral's uniform, with orders to match. I would expect 3 to be either Norwegian or a (protestant) religious decoration, which seems to be the second theme apparent on the picture.

 

Savoy also unlikely as the emperor was awarded the GC of that order, not the knights- or officers cross. I see no evidence Wilhelm II was awarded the Bulgarian civil merit order. See: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_II,_German_Emperor  

 

Kind regards, 

Sandro

[JohanH]

5 hours ago, GdC26 said:

I'm not sure about the identification of 3 as either the Bulgarian order of civil merit or the Italian order of Savoy, if only because Wilhelm II appears to be wearing a presumably Norwegian (rather than Danish) admiral's uniform, with orders to match. I would expect 3 to be either Norwegian or a (protestant) religious decoration, which seems to be the second theme apparent on the picture.

 

Savoy also unlikely as the emperor was awarded the GC of that order, not the knights- or officers cross. I see no evidence Wilhelm II was awarded the Bulgarian civil merit order. See: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_II,_German_Emperor  

 

Kind regards, 

Sandro

It is definitly not a Norwegian order. There is no other order than St. Olav and Lion Order. 

 

Wilhelm II was admiral in both the Swedish (1888) and Danish navy (1903). 

Sweden and Norway was in a union until 1905, so perhaps he could wear the Norwegian Navy uniform. But the picture is taken after January 1904 when he got the Lion order. 

 

I believe that the uniform is a Danish one, comparing the buttons on the picture to the one below. 

 

 

[GdC26]

That 

16 minutes ago, JohanH said:

It is definitly not a Norwegian order. There is no other order than St. Olav and Lion Order. 

 

Wilhelm II was admiral in both the Swedish (1888) and Danish navy (1903). 

Sweden and Norway was in a union until 1905, so perhaps he could wear the Norwegian Navy uniform. But the picture is taken after January 1904 when he got the Lion order. 

 

I believe that the uniform is a Danish one, comparing the buttons on the picture to the one below. 

 

 

That is consistent with Getty’s identification. Still, for reasons explained above, both the order of Savoy and the Bulgarian civil meritorder seem unlikely.

Kind regards, 

Sandro

[BlackcowboyBS]

Could Nr. 3 be something that we call in German a Kleindecoration, so a small decoration of a grand cross in the size of a knight cross? I doubt that SM Wilhelm II. is wearing a knight cross. 

[JohanH]

1 hour ago, GdC26 said:

That 

That is consistent with Getty’s identification. Still, for reasons explained above, both the order of Savoy and the Bulgarian civil meritorder seem unlikely.

Kind regards, 

Sandro

I agree with you. The more I look at the picture the less I believe it is the Bulgarian order of civil merit. 

Both the crown and the "things" between the cross arms are wrong. 

 

What other orders use that kind of cross?

I can't think of anything other than Bulgarian orders. 

[KarlstonMarcks]

Yeah, i just want to say that i'm sorry... i don't know how to quote people, but i think what BlackcowboyBS said is a possibility. I know of the miniature Grand Crosses as i've seen them in paintings and in real life at the Stockholm Palace where Charles XIV John's Marshal's uniform that he wore during the Battle of the Nations at Liepzig in 1813 is on display.

 

Here are some examples:

1.  Charles XIV John of Sweden's Marshal's Uniform with the small Grand Crosses of both the Order of the Sword (left) and the Order of Vasa (Right).
2. Charles (XIV) John as Crown Prince of Sweden wearing the small Grand Crosses of both the Swedish Order of the Sword and the French Legion of Honour.
3. Nicholas I of Russia wearing the miniture Grand Cross of the Order of St. George.
4. Charles XIV John of Sweden wearing the small Grand Crosses of the Order of the Sword (Left), the Order of the Polar Star (Middle) and the Order of Vasa (Right)
5. Oscar I of Sweden wearing all the Swedish chivelric orders on his left breast.
6. Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, one of Napoleon's Marshal's and later Crown Prince and King of Sweden.

These wear just some examples i knew of the top of my head. But i'm sure there are plenty more out there. Sorry for my bad spelling though.

Edited November 25, 2022 by KarlstonMarcks

[JohanH]

I believe #3 is a kleindekoration of the grand cross of the military order of Savoy. 

Kaiser Wilhelm received that order in 1888. 

[GdC26]

1 hour ago, JohanH said:

I believe #3 is a kleindekoration of the grand cross of the military order of Savoy. 

Kaiser Wilhelm received that order in 1888. 

Maybe, but as said before I'm not so sure - normally, royalty would wear uniforms with matching decorations when posing or when on state visits, and Italy on a Danish uniform with Norwegian decorations just doesn't make much sense (especially if one considers that the purported Kleindekoration of the grand cross of Italy's highest military decoration is hidden behind the Jerusalemkreuz, and that it is the only Kleindekoration he would be wearing).

 

Mistakes were made, but donning a completely random set of orders is rare, and seems out of character for someone as vain as Wilhelm II.

 

Given the apparent theme of the decorations Wilhelm II is wearing in the pic (2 Norwegian orders, 3 what one might -somewhat incorrectly - call "ecclesiastical" decorations and the Adjutantentabzeichen for Kaiser Wilhelm I), I wouldn't be surprised if the mystery cross is some ecclesiastical decoration as well. 

 

I checked other pics of Wilhelm II in Danish admiral's uniform yesterday, but none of them show him at the correct angle. I also checked some references on Wilhelm II's decorations, but did not identify the mystery cross through those either.

 

Wilhelm II's (main) orders are listed on the Wiki page I posted earlier.

Kind regards, 

Sandro

Edited November 26, 2022 by GdC26