Grand Cross is the highest grade in many orders of knighthood. Sometimes the holders of the highest grade are referred to "commanders grand cross", "knights grand cross" or just "grand crosses"; in other cases the actual insignia itself is called "the grand cross".
Alternatively, in some other orders, the highest grade may be called the "grand cordon", "grand collar" etc. In those cases the rank of grand cross may come after another rank (e.g. the Portuguese Order of Saint James of the Sword).
Read more about Grand Cross: Denomination "Grand Cordons"
Famous quotes containing the words grand and/or cross:
“Critics are sentinels in the grand army of letters, stationed at the corners of newspapers and reviews, to challenge every new author.”
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882)
“The cross of the Legion of Honor has been conferred on me. However, few escape that distinction.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)