The Royal Order of Cambodia (; ) was a colonial order of chivalry of French Cambodia, and is still in use as an order of chivalry in the present-day Kingdom of Cambodia.
History Colonialism
On 8 February 1864, the king founded the Royal Order of Cambodia as an order of merit with five degrees. After 1896, the French government and the kings of Cambodia each granted themselves the Order of Cambodia. The French president was rightly Grand Cross in the Royal Order of Cambodia. The order served to distinguish civilians and soldiers, subjects of the king or strangers, who had made themselves worthy. In 1896, the order was officially taken up in the French system of colonial orders of chivalry.
For French appointments, the recipient had to be at least 29 years old and enter the Order first as a knight, to be promoted to a higher grade after a certain period. Only officers of the Légion d'honneur could become a commander in the Order and only commanders of the Légion d'honneur could be Commanders or Officers of the Order. Apart from decorations for bravery or merit during foreign campaigns, the French colonial orders also required that a certain number of years had to have been spent in the tropics or overseas to be eligible - in this case, three years in Indochina, preferably in Cambodia. From 1933 the Order was also granted for the organization of exhibitions dedicated to Cambodia and sacred events important to the French colonies. None of these rules applied for grants by the King of Cambodia himself.
The colonial and overseas orders were immediately contingent on the French orders and awarded on ministerial orders. Those awarded it not only had to pay for their own registration and qualifications, but also had to buy their own insignia.Sylvester, J. The Orders and Medals of Cambodia and Laos, 1986: pp. 5-8.
Post-colonial In 1948 France ceased granting the order. Formally it remained a French colonial policy, but it was now only granted by the King of Cambodia. The order has since then been one of the historical orders of France.
On September 1, 1950, the (colonial) French order-system was reformed. The Order of the Star of Anjouan and the Order of the Black Star were formalised as French Overseas Orders. The other three were the "Order of States Associated to the French Union" (French: "Ordre des États de l'Union Française Associés"). In 1955, Cambodia became independent. The order was approved by King Norodom Sihanouk during his government and also granted during his exile in Beijing.
The order became dormant in 1975, under the government of Democratic Kampuchea. Following United Nations supported elections in 1993, H.M. King Norodom Sihanouk, was returned to the throne and the Order was reinstituted by Royal Decree No. 1095/01 dated 5 October 1995. This decree was signed by Chea Sim as the King's representative, Norodom Ranariddh, the First Prime Minister and Hun Sen, the Second Prime Minister at the time. A few design changes took place. After the restoration of the Khmer dynasty it remained the highest Cambodian distinction. The original French type crown has been replaced by the Khmer Royal Crown.
Grades
Since 1948 The five classes of appointment to the Order are, in descending order of precedence: Maha Sirivaddha (មហាសេរីវឌ្ឍន៍) or Knight Grand Cross Mahasena (មហាសេនា) or Knight Grand Officer Dhipadinda (ធិបឌិន្ទ) or Knight Commander Sena (សេនា) or Knight Officer Assarariddhi (អស្សឫទ្ធិ) or Knight or Chevalier
Prior to 1948 The five classes of appointment to the Order are, in descending order of precedence: Maha Sirivaddha (មហាសេរីវឌ្ឍន៍) or Knight Grand Cross Mahasena (មហាសេនា) or Knight Grand Officer Dhipadinda (ធិបឌិន្ទ) or Knight Commander Sena (សេនា) or Knight Officer Assarariddhi (អស្សឫទ្ធិ) or Knight or Chevalier Members of all classes of the order are assigned positions in the order of precedence. The highest level of the Knight Grand Cross relates to refinement. Those honored in this way are raised to the personal, non-hereditary status of nobility and henceforth bear the title His or Her Excellence (H.E.). This is prefixed to the full name., pp.17-25.Stair Sainty, G. World Orders of Knighthood and Merit, 2006: pp.953-954.
Insignia
The medal of the order comes in many different forms, as a slightly elongated silver or gold star surmounted by a Cambodian crown and with an image of the king's crown and coat of arms in gold on a violet blue background and surrounded by a red circle. The reverse of the medal is left rough. To promote the order if it was awarded by the French, the Cambodian crown was replaced with a European one surmounted by a small cross, and in the early years the order was even awarded without any crown.
The central image on the star of the order is the same as the medal, though the crown is missing and the rays are usually smooth. The star is elongated, with the vertical rays longer than the horizontal rays. The regalia of Knights is in silver, whilst those of the higher grades are gold. The medal and star are equally for civilians and soldiers. The ribbon of the order was originally green with a red border, changing in 1899 to white with an orange border (in the same year the French government changed the colours of the ribbons of all five colonial orders), before reverting to the original black ribbon when it became a purely Cambodian order again.
Recipients Year appointedClassName1884KnightCharles BaretKnightFrançois DeuveKnightHypollite Herménégilde Tell 1885KnightErnest DeuveKnight Grand OfficerHenri Rieunier1888Knight Grand CrossThanh Thái1895Knight OfficerNikolai Kolomeitsev1896KnightHenri Mordacq1897Knight Grand CrossJean-Baptiste Billot1898KnightAndré Michelin1901KnightLéon BretonKnight OfficerOctave Denis Victor GuillonnetKnight Grand CrossPakubuwono X1905Knight Grand CrossSisavang Vong1907Knight Grand OfficerFukushima Yasumasa1921Knight Grand CrossJoseph Joffre1924KnightJean Desbois1929Knight Grand CrossJagatjit Singh1933Knight Grand CrossIbrahim of Johor1941Knight Grand CrossNorodom Suramarit1954Knight Grand CrossBhumibol Adulyadej1956Knight Grand CrossJosip Broz TitoKnight Grand CrossAntonín ZápotockýKnight Grand CrossRamon Magsaysay1959Knight Grand CrossSavang Vatthana1960Knight Grand CrossAntonín Novotný1961Knight Grand CrossCharles de Gaulle1962Knight Grand CrossPutra of Perlis1965Knight Grand CrossKim Il Sung1992Knight Grand CrossNorodom Ranariddh2001Knight Grand CrossSok An2002Knight Grand CrossSirajuddin of PerlisKnight Grand CrossTuanku Tengku Fauziah2003Knight Grand OfficerAun Pornmoniroth2004Knight Grand CrossNorodom SihamoniKnight Grand CrossNorodom MonineathKnight Grand CrossKim Jong Il2005Knight CommanderKazimierz Duchowski2006Knight Grand CrossNorodom ArunrasmyKnight Grand CrossJohn Sanderson2007Knight Grand CrossChau Sen Cocsal ChhumKnight CommanderHor Nambora2008Knight Grand OfficierBernard Krisher2011Knight Grand CrossHor Namhong2013Knight Grand CrossKao Kim Hourn2014Knight Grand CrossFrank BermanSir Frank Berman awarded the Royal Order of Cambodia. University of Oxford (21 April 2014). Retrieved on 30-12-2022.2018Knight Grand CrossSong Tao (diplomat)2020Knight Grand CrossOknha Na-Mey Ruy. Ras Mei News (5 October 2020). Retrieved on 30-12-2022.2022Knight Grand CrossDr Mihajlo GlamcevskiKnight Grand CrossTengku Fauziah binti Almarhum Tengku Abdul Rashid2023Knight Grand CrossBjörn StenversDeputy Prime Minister Chea Sophara for direction 2023 of Tbong Khmum Province. Ministry of Information Cambodian Government (23 March 2023). Retrieved on 24 March 2023.Recognised with Cambodia's highest honour. Phnom Penh Post (28-3-2023). Retrieved on 28-3-2023.Knight Grand CrossSambath Pol2024Knight Grand CrossJames McCabeKnight Grand CrossMike SmithKingdom’s top honours for Child Protection Unit. Phnom Penh Post (14-3-2024). Retrieved on 2-6-2024.Knight Grand CrossNick RoseunknownKnight Grand CrossEmperor Akihito of JapanKnight Grand CrossMarcel AlessandriKnight Grand CrossBảo LongKnight Grand CrossBảo ĐạiKnight CommanderJacques Cheymol, Alain Fradet, ibid, .Maryse BastiéKnight Henri Bellieni.Knight CommanderGustave BesnardKnight CommanderAlbert BessonKnight Grand CrossUrban Jacob Rasmus BørresenAmundsen, Otto Delphin. 1947. Den Kongelige norske Sankt Olavs orden 1847-1947. Oslo: Grøndahl & Søn Forlag, p. 73.Knight Grand CrossSarin ChhakKnight OfficerÉmile DubocKnight Grand CrossHamengkubuwono VIIIKnight Grand CrossHassan II of MoroccoKnight Grand CrossHirohitoKnight Grand CrossJean de Lattre de TassignyFONDATION MARECHAL DE LATTRE. Retrieved 15 February 2017.Knight Grand CrossPhilippe Leclerc de HauteclocqueKnight Grand CrossLeopold II of BelgiumKnightJean-David LevitteKnight Grand CrossManuel Luis QuezonKnight OfficerAuguste LumièreKnight Grand CrossRaoul Magrin-VernereyKnight Grand CrossHun ManetKnightFrançois MarjouletKnight Grand OfficerBoun OumKnight OfficerMarcel RibièreKnight Grand CrossWillem RooseboomKnight Grand CrossRaoul SalanKnight Grand CrossYōhei SasakawaKnight Grand CrossVong SavangKnight Grand CrossTea BanhKnight Grand CrossJean de Lattre de TassignyKnight OfficerMardochée ValabrègueKnight OfficerFrançois ZimerayKnight Grand CrossLeopold III of Belgium
References
External links
Les Compagnons de la Libération – Croix et Attributs ", de Cyrille CARDONA, édité par la SAMOL, 2022, . Indochina Medals, The Orders and Medals of the Kingdom of Cambodia Medals of the World, Kingdom of Cambodia: Royal Order of Moniseraphon