Order of Leopold (Belgium) - Insignia

Insignia

The collar of the Order is in gold, with nine crowns, nine face-to-face monograms "LR" (for "Leopoldus Rex" for King Leopold I), and eighteen lions.

The badge of the Order is a white-enamelled Maltese Cross, in silver for the Knight class and in gold for the higher classes, with a green-enamelled wreath of laurel and oak leaves between the arms of the cross. The obverse central disc features a lion on a black enamel background; the reverse central disc has the face-to-face monogram "LR" (for King Leopold I); both discs are surrounded by a red enamel ring with the motto "Unity Is Strength" in French (L'union fait la force) and in Dutch (Eendracht maakt macht). The cross is topped by a crown, which might have crossed swords (military division) or anchors (maritime division) underneath it. The civil division has neither swords nor anchors.

The plaque of the Order is an eight-pointed faceted silver star for the Grand Cordon class, and a silver faceted Maltese Cross with straight rays between the arms for the Grand Officer class. The central disc has a lion on a black enamel background, surrounded by a red enamel ring with the motto as on the badge. Golden crossed swords or anchors might be added behind the medallion, depending on division.

The ribbon of the Order is usually plain purple. However, if the Order is warded in special circumstances, the ribbon of the Officer and Knight classes show the following variations:

• Crossed swords are added to the ribbon when awarded in wartime (if the Order was awarded during the Second World War or during the Korean War, a small bar is added to the ribbon mentioning the name of the war);
• The ribbon has a vertical gold border on both sides when awarded for a special act of valour at war;
• The ribbon has a central vertical gold stripe when awarded for an exceptionally meritorious act in war time;
• A silver star is added to the ribbon when awarded for meritorious acts of charity;
• A gold star is added to the ribbon when the recitpent has been mentioned in despatches at the national level;
• Silver or gold palms are added to the ribbon when awarded in wartime to military personnel.

Stars and borders or stripes can be awarded together, but these deviations are currently only rarely awarded. The colour of the ribbon has varied during the nineteenth century from red to purple.

The ribbon bar of the order, which is worn on the semi-formal dress uniform is:

Since 1921, insignas of the Order not awarded in war time have to be purchased by the recipient.