The Royal Order of the Two Sicilies
Since its abolition in 1819 by Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies, S.A.I.R. the eighth prince Murat has decided to reestablish the old Royal Order of the Two Sicilies, as a dynastic order of the family of which he is the Grand Master. The Order will concern two classes, Knight and Commander. This reinstatement took place on March 25, 2017, the anniversary of the birth of King Murat, at the Cercle de l’Union Interalliée, 33 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris.
The Order had been created by Joseph Napoleon, King of the Two Sicilies in 1806 and by his brother the Emperor Napoleon I, by means of a decree signed in Naples on February 24, 1808. However, who really brought the Order to life was his successor and brother-in-law, Joachim Murat, who became king by decree of July 15, 1808. Although Joseph had accepted the drawing project of the Order, it was finally Murat who reformed it by decree of November 5, 1808 and who created the necklace reserved for certain dignitaries or Grand Cross. Like the order of the Legion of Honor, this was of five classes: Grand Cross, Grand Officer, Commander, Officer and Knight.
Each necklace is made up of fifteen medallions surrounded by laurel wreaths that symbolize the main provinces of the kingdom. They are interconnected by fourteen pairs of mermaids that face each other and hold hands. In the sixteenth medallion, against a blue background, the gold profile of Joachim Napoleon stands out from which hangs the gold royal crown and also stamped in gold the imperial eagle that holds the star in its talons. This five-pointed red star carries in its center the horse of Naples surrounded by the motto Pro renovata patria on the obverse, and on the reverse the Sicilian trinacria formed by three folded legs and accompanied by the inscription Joachimus Napoleon Neap. And Siciliae rex.
