The Royal Order of the Lion
5 classes and 3 medals
This Order was created by King Leopold II, as king of the independant state of Congo, in 1891 and was later, in 1908, incorporated as a colonial order into the Belgian awards system. Award of the Order were for meritorious services to the Belgian colony or its sovereign. The Order's badge has 2 intertwined letters "C" (Congo) between the cross arms and the reverse medallion bears l intertwined letters "L" (Leopold) over the letter "S" (Sovereign). The Order's motto, "TRAVAIL ET PROGRES" (Labour and progress) surrounds the obverse central medallion (a gilt lion on blue enamel). The different classes of the Order (whereby medals are awarded to NCO's and other ranks, to "lower" rank public servants, etc.) are :
 |
| Grand Cross (King Leopold II estate at Belgian Army Museum in Brussels) |
 |
| Grand-Officer |
 |
 |
 |
Commander (obverse & reverse) |
Officer |
|
|
Knight, reverse |
Gold Medal (unilingual and bilingual types) |
|
|
Silver Medal |
Bronze Medal, reverse |
Copyright Hendrik Meersschaert 2024 ©
