Royal Order of the Lion
| Royal Order of the Lion Ordre royal du Lion |
|
|---|---|
Awarded by  Kingdom of Belgium |
|
| Type | Order of Merit with five classes and three medals |
| Motto |
TRAVAIL ET PROGRES - ARBEID EN VOORUITGANG |
| Awarded for | Services to Congo and its ruler |
| Status | Still living members, but no longer awarded since 1962 |
| Sovereign | His Majesty King Philippe |
| Former grades | Grand Cross Grand Officer Commander Officer Knight |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 1891 - 1908 (Order of Congo Free State) 1908 - 1962 (as Belgian Order) |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | Order of the African Star |
| Next (lower) | Order of the Crown (Belgium) |
The Royal Order of the Lion (French: Ordre Royal du Lion) (Dutch: Orde van de Leeuw) was established by King Leopold II of the Belgians on 9 April 1891, in his capacity as ruler of the Congo Free State, and was awarded for services to Congo and its ruler that did not deserve the award of the Order of the African Star and were not necessarily performed from within the Congo. It was incorporated into the Belgian honours system following the annexation of the Congo Free State by Belgium. The motto of the Order is "Travail et progrès" (French: Labour and progress). The King of the Belgians is its Grand Master. Even though Congo is no longer a Belgian colony, it is still considered to be a Belgian Order.
The Royal Order of the Lion is awarded by Royal Decree. Following the independence of Congo in 1960, the Royal Order of the Lion is no longer awarded (although it still exists).
The Royal Order of the Lion has five classes and three medals:
The Badge of the order is a white enamel Rupert cross with a perimeter channel of blue enamel, with the angles in-filled with filigree 'back to back' letter "C"s for "Congo". The central disc depicts the crowned Belgian lion on a blue enamel background surrounded by a silver ring with the motto of the Congo "TRAVAIL ET PROGRES". This again is surrounded by a scalloped channel of blue enamel. Reverse, similar to the obverse but with a central disc of red enamel with the crowned royal monogram "L/S/L" superimposed. Suspension is by means of a pivoting royal crown and ring.
The Plaque (for Grand Cross) is a faceted silver eight-pointed star, or (for Grand Officer) a faceted silver Maltese Cross with silver rays between the arms. The central disc is the same to that of the badge.
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