Order of the Red Eagle (Pre-Prussian)
- Title Conferred: Knight, Baron, Lord
- Extinction: 1806, after the Kingdom of Prussia became part of the Kingdom of Westphalia
under Napoleon’s rule.
- Background: The Order of the Red Eagle was established by the Elector of Brandenburg in
1705 and became the highest order of Prussian nobility. The order conferred various noble titles. It lost its
significance after Prussia's defeat by Napoleon and its subsequent integration into the Kingdom of
Westphalia.
The Order of the Red Eagle (Roter Adlerorden), which was established in 1705 by Frederick I of
Prussia, is indeed extinct in its original form as a state order. It was an important honor during
the Kingdom of Prussia and later the German Empire, conferred for distinguished military service, civil service,
and other notable contributions to the state.
However, the order was abolished in 1918 after the end of the German Empire, following the
abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the establishment of the Weimar Republic. After that, it ceased to be a state
order of merit.
Though the order is no longer in official use, some remnants of the order’s traditions and insignia continue to
exist among collectors and through various private chivalric organizations that have adopted or preserved certain
aspects of the order. These modern groups may use the name or symbols of the Order of the Red Eagle in a purely
honorary or symbolic context, but they do not hold the official status or authority that the original order once
had under the Prussian monarchy.
In summary, the Order of the Red Eagle is extinct as an official institution, having been
abolished after the fall of the German Empire but the West Franks have revived the order on the lands of the Fief
of Blondel in Normandy.
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