Order of Saint Catherine
| Imperial Order of Saint Catherine Императорский Орден Святой Екатерины |
|
|---|---|
Star of the Order
|
|
Awarded by  Head of the House of Romanov |
|
| Type | Dynastic Order |
| Royal house | House of Romanov |
| Religious affiliation | Russian Orthodox |
| Ribbon | Red with Silver thread on either side. |
| Motto | "For Love and Fatherland" |
| Status | Rarely constituted |
| Sovereign | Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia |
| Grand Mistress | Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia |
| Grades | Dame Grand Cordon Dame |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 24 November 1714 1714 – 1918 (National Order) 1918 - Present (House Order) |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | Imperial Order of St. Andrew |
| Next (lower) | Imperial Order of St. Prince Alexander Nevsky |
 The ribbon of the Order |
|
The Order of Saint Catherine (Russian: Императорский Орден Святой Екатерины) was an award of Imperial Russia. Instituted on 24 November 1714 by Peter the Great on the occasion of his marriage to Catherine I of Russia. For the majority of the time of Imperial Russia, it was the only award for women; the Order of Saint Olga existed briefly from 1916–1917, but ceased with the fall of the Romanov dynasty.
The statutes of the Order were first published in 1713, and the order was under the patronage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the patron saint of the Empress. On the 24th of November 1714, on the Empress' name day, Peter the Great personally bestowed the insignia of the Order upon the Empress Catherine, creating her Grand Mistress of the Order. However, no further members were inducted until 1726. Dowager Empress Maria Fyodorovna, who died in 1928, was the last pre-Revolutionary Grand Mistress of the Order of Saint Catherine. Today, claimant to the Headship of the Imperial House Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna claims the right to award the Order.
The award was bestowed in two classes:
Every Russian Grand Duchess was conferred the Grand Cross of the Order at her christening (or marriage into the Romanov family), and Princesses of the Imperial Blood were invested upon attaining their majority at 18.
In addition to the royal members, a fixed number (106) of other members were permitted by the statutes:
The 12 Dames Grand Cross were typically female members of foreign ruling houses. Queen Alexandra of Great Britain was made a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Catherine by Alexander II, and Princess Alice of Greece was also a member of the Order.
...
Wikipedia