In the Dutch honours system, most
orders are the responsibility of ministers of the
Netherlands Government. The
house orders, however, are awarded at the discretion of the
Dutch monarch alone.
Over the centuries, hundreds of
medals, decorations for merit or valour and orders of knighthood have been instituted by the successive governments of the
Netherlands. The oldest were founded by the counts of
Holland. Their successors, the House of
Burgundy, founded the famous
Order of the Golden Fleece. This order still exists in Spain and in the Austrian imperial House.
The
Republic of the Seven United Netherlands did not possess an order of knighthood. Instead so called "Beloningspenningen", golden medals on golden chains, were given as gifts to ambassadors and successful admirals.
In 1781 a medal called the "Doggersbank medaille" was awarded to the officers who took part in the
Battle of the Dogger Bank against the British fleet. It was the first modern Dutch decoration.
The
Batavian Republic, founded after the French invasion of 1795, did not institute any orders or medals.
His successors founded several orders of merit and some two hundred medals, stars and crosses. The Netherlands never established a colonial order for the
Dutch East Indies.
The order of wear of Dutch Honours is published in the Official Gazette of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The orders, decorations and medals are listed in that order below.[1]
National Pentathlon Cross of the Dutch Sports Federation (Nationale Vijfkampkruis van de Nederlandse Sport Federatie)
Military Performance Event Cross of the Royal Dutch Reserve Officers Association (Kruis van de Koninklijke Vereniging van Nederlandse Reserve-Officieren voor de Militaire Prestatietocht)
Medal for Proven Athletic Skill of the Dutch Olympic Committee (Medaille voor vaardigheidsproeven van het Nederlands Olympisch Comité)
^"Besluit draagvolgorde onderscheidingen". Staatscourant van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden (in Dutch). Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2022.