Order of Grimaldi

Order of Grimaldi Ordre de Grimaldi
Knights' cross of the Order of Grimaldi
Awarded by Prince of Monaco
Type	House Order
Awarded for	people who have contributed to the prestige of the Principality with distinction
Status	Currently constituted
Sovereign	H.S.H. Albert II, Prince of Monaco
Chancellor	Raoul Biancheri, Plenipotentiary Minister
Grades (w/ post-nominals)	Knight-Grand Cross, Grand Officer, Commander, Officer, Knight
Established	18 November 1954
Precedence
Next (higher)	Order of the Crown
Next (lower)	Order of Cultural Merit
Ribbon bar of the Order of Grimaldi

The Order of Grimaldi is an Order (decoration) established in Monaco on 18 November 1954. This Order rewards personal service to the Sovereign Prince of Monaco; as such it is awarded on the sole discretion of the Prince, currently Albert II, Prince of Monaco.

Grades

The Order has five classes:

• Knight Grand Cross, which wears the badge on a sash on the right shoulder, plus the star on the left chest;
• Grand Officer, which wears the badge on a necklet, plus the star on the right chest;
• Commander, which wears the badge on a necklet;
• Officer, which wears the badge on a ribbon with rosette on the left chest;
• Knight, which wears the badge on a plain ribbon on the left chest.

Insignia

• The badge of the Order is a white-enamelled Maltese Cross, in silver for Knight class, in gilt for higher classes. The obverse central disc is in gilt, bearing a mounted knight carrying the coat-of-arms of Monaco (actually that of the Grimaldi family), surrounded by the legend "Rainer Grimaldi, Prince de Monaco". The reverse central disc, also in gilt, bears the year "1950" and the legend "Principauté de Monaco". The badge is topped by a crown.

• The star of the Order is a modern design in silver, formed by 16 rhombs (from the coat-of-arms of the Grimaldi family and of Monaco) arranged in a circle. The gilt central disc is the same as that on the obverse of the badge.

• The ribbon of the Order is white, with a thin red stripe near (but not touching) the edge of the ribbon.