ORDER OF THE YUGOSLAV CROWN
(Orden jugoslovenske krune - Орден југословенске круне)
Shorter version of this article was published Burke's Peerage "World Orders of Knighthood and of Merit in 2006, ISBN 0971196672 and in the Journal of the Orders and Medals Sociaty of America (JOMSA), 1998, Vol. 49, No. 4 (July-August)
UNDER CONSTRUCTION -PLEASE VISIT REGULARLY
The system of decorations that Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians inherited from Kingdom of Serbia after the unification in 1918 became very soon insufficient to award growing number of political, military and diplomatic personnel. The Order of St. Sava (est. 1883), originally given for merits in art, culture and literature, was already during WWI amended to cover military merits. King did not want to inflate the Order of the Star of Karageorge (est. 1904) nor the Order of White Eagle (est. 1883), both subject to numerus clausus for domestic, but unlimited for foreign recipients. It was obvious that a new state order was needed.
Year 1929 was the important milestone in the existence of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians. The strive between Serbian and Croatian politicians and opposed views on the political future of the Union led to a shooting incident in the Parliament the year before. In order to end the crisis King Alexander I (Karageorgevich) dissolved the Parliament on 6th January and assumed full executive powers. This unpopular move, however undemocratic, was considered by the King the only way to prevent the dissolution of the State and was meant to last only as long as necessary. The personal regime lasted until the King's assassination in Marseilles in 1934.
One of the political changes of this period was the change in the name of the state, which was renamed to (Kingdom of) Yugoslavia on 3rd October 1929.
King commemorated this change by instituting the Order of Yugoslav Crown as an eminent award for political, diplomatic and military award. It took precedence after the Order of White Eagle, but before the Order of St. Sava. The idea of having a general purpose “order of the Crown” was not new nor original – many European monarchies had such orders at the time and it was already in 1911 suggested in the (never legislated) new Law on Orders and Medals of the Kingdom of Serbia that an order of the Crown is to be established.
The Order of Yugoslav Crown is organized in five classes with no numerical limitations, following the patterns of the Order of White Eagle and of St. Sava:
Grand Cross: Sash badge and breast star
Grand Officer: Neck badge and breast star
Commander: Neck badge
Officer: Breast badge
Knight: Breast badge
The badge of the Order is stylized white-enameled ballpoint cross-floury with green-enameled laurel wreath between the arms. The obverse medallion displays the enameled crown of Yugoslavia and the reverse an official cipher of King Alexander I Karageorgevich and the date "3. X 1930". The badge was suspended directly on the sash/cravat/ribbon, but this was changed very soon when a green-enameled laurel wreath was added as a mean of suspension. The officer and knight badges are slightly smaller in size and knight's badge is silver with the silver-gilt crown in obverse.
The star of the Order is of four points, with plain rays, 90mm and 75 mm in diameter respectively and is worn on the left side.
The riband of the Order is dark blue to purple.
Before the WWII, the insignia were manufactured both abroad by Huguenin Freres (today Huguenin + Kramer) of Le Locle, Switzerland and domestically by Sorlini of Varazhdin, today Croatia. "Sorlini" specimens are poorer then the Swiss ones, with the crown in obverse without eagles and in green and red enamel only, (var 1.) and with the crown in obverse somewhat deformed and overall appearance quite different then defined by the guidelines (var. 2). The bestowal documents were printed respectively on the vellum (GC) and ornamented paper (other classes), both designed by George Charapich.
NOTES
Montenegrin Order of Danilo I was taken into exile by the King of Montenegro. The new state did not suppress it after 1918, but did not award it either.
See the article on this Order.
Commonly known as the "6th-January-Dictatorship" in post-WWII Yugoslav historical literature.
King Alexander I Karageorgevich was assassinated during the state visit to France on 9th October. Along his side died the French foreign minister Dr. Louis Bartou.
Law on Order of Yugoslav Crown of 5th April, 1930 (Official Gazette No. 79, 6th April, 1930)
Atually the Crown of Serbia, made by Falize Manufacture, of Paris, for the coronation of Peter I Karageorgevich in 1904. Presently in the collection of the Historical Museum of Serbia, Belgrade.
Date when the name of the state was changed to "Yugoslavia".
Decree of 15th November, 1930. See Mila Piletic: Orders of Yugoslan peoples in 19th and the first half of the 20th c.(until 1941) from the collection of the Military Museum, Belgrade 1987 (in Serbian) and Djordje J. Andric: Order of Yugoslav Crown, OMSA Medal Collector Vol. 49, No. 4 (July-August): 28-29
