The Royal and Merciful Society of Bearers of Medals and Awards of Belgium (Koninklijke en Menslievende Vereniging van Dragers van Eretekens en Medailles van Belgie) was founded in 1865. The headquarters of the Royal Society is located in Heule, Belgium.
Patronage edit
The Royal Society is under the protection of the King of the Belgians.[1]
Royal Protector: Philippe - King of the Belgians.
Members edit
The Royal and Merciful Society of the Bearer of Medals and Awards of Belgium elects as members, persons who were honoured for their acts of either courage, self-sacrifice or charity.
Members must have an excellent reputation and their awards for the above acts must be, by the Belgian State or any other State which has been recognized by the Belgian State.
Moreover, there are associate members that support the objectives of the Royal Association.
Structure edit
The Royal and Merciful Society of the Bearer of Medals and Awards of Belgium is governed by a national board of directors. At the top is the protector, Philippe - King of the Belgians. The Honorary Chairman is the Mayor of Brussels. The Society is made up of the Belgian provinces and the external Regions.[2]
Provinces edit
Kingdom of Belgium:
- Province Brabant
- Province East Flanders
- Province West Flanders
- Province Hainaut
- Province Namur
- Province Liège
- Province Limburg
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External Regions edit
Region of Germany
Region of France
Region of the Netherlands
Medals and awards edit
The Royal and Merciful Society of the Bearer of Medals and Awards of Belgium gives two kinds of awards: The Order of the Belgian Cross (Orde van het belgisch Kruis) and Medals of Gratitude (Erkentelijkheidmedailles). An Honorary Cross for humanitarian merit is also awarded.[3]
Honorary Cross edit
Honorary Cross, Awarded for outstanding humanitarian work and merit.
Order of the Belgian Cross edit
The Order is awarded in five classes which are, in descending order of precedence:
Grand Cross (GKBK)
Grand Officer (GOBK)
Commander (CBK)
Officer (OBK)
Knight (RBK)
The Order is exclusively reserved for full members and is awarded for outstanding social achievements.
Medals of Gratitude edit
There are two kinds of Medals of Gratitude: The "Palms of Mercy" (Palmen van Menslievenheid) and the "Medal of the Belgian Crown" (Medal van Gekroont Belgie).
Palms of Mercy edit
There are the following classes:
Gold Medal
Silver Medal
Bronze Medal
Medal of the Belgian Crown edit
There are the following classes:
Gold Medal
Silver Medal
Bronze Medal
Publications edit
The Royal Society publishes the following journal:
- DE PHILANTHROPIST
It appears on a quarterly basis.