Royal Order of George I

Royal Order of George I Βασιλικόν Τάγμα Γεωργίου Α'
Star of the Grand Cross of the Order of George I (civil division)
Awarded by the King of the Hellenes
Motto	ΙΣΧΥΣ ΜΟΥ Η ΑΓΑΠΗ ΤΟΥ ΛΑΟΥ(THE LOVE OF MY PEOPLE IS MY STRENGTH)
Awarded for	distinguished services to Greece
Sovereign	King Constantine II
Grades	Knight Grand Cross Knight Grand Commander Knight Commander Knight Officer Knight
Statistics
Established	16 January 1915
Precedence
Next (higher)	Royal Order of Saints George and Constantine Royal Order of Saints Olga and Sophia
Next (lower)	Royal Order of the Phoenix

The Royal Order of George I (Greek: Βασιλικόν Τάγμα Γεωργίου Α') is an order of Greek Royal Family

The order was founded in 1915 by King Constantine I in honor of his father, George I. It was only the second Greek order to be created after the Order of the Redeemer in 1833, and remained the second senior award of the Greek state for the duration of its existence. The order was closely associated with the Greek monarchy, and was hence abolished with the establishment of the Second Hellenic Republic in 1924, to be replaced with the Order of the Phoenix. The order was restored along with the monarchy in 1935, and continued to be awarded until the final abolition of the monarchy in 1973. It was replaced by the Third Hellenic Republic in 1975 by the Order of Honour.

The Order has five classes:

A sixth, supreme class comprising a Collar of the order was originally envisaged, but never realized.

As the Order was restricted to officers and senior state officials, an additional Commemorative Medal of the Order of George I (Αναμνηστικόν μετάλλιον του Τάγματος Γεωργίου Α') was instituted in 1915 for NCOs and common soldiers, junior officials and ordinary citizens. It had initially two classes, silver and bronze, with a third in gold added after 1935.

The badge of the Order is a white-enamelled Latin cross pattée, in silver for the Silver Cross class, in gold for the higher classes, with a wreath of laurels between the arms of the cross. The obverse central disc was in red enamel, bearing the royal cypher of George I, two crossed gammas with a crown above and a "I" below, surrounded by a white enamel ring bearing the royal motto IΣXΥΣ MOΥ H AΓAΠH TOΥ ΛAOΥ ("The Love of My People is My Strength"). The reverse central disc bears the years of George I's reign, 1863-1913. The badge is topped by a crown; the military division also had crossed swords behind the badge. The Commemorative Medal's badge is identical in design, except that the cross is not enameled.