Octagonal bronze medal with laterally-pierced loop for ribbon suspension; the face with the cross pattée of the Order with the space between the arms filled and patterned with hatched curved lines, a circular central medallion bearing the crowned monogram ‘W’ (for its founder, Grand Duke William II); the reverse with a circular wreath of oak; on original ribbon; in original case of issue. The order was established on 29 December 1841 by Grand Duke William II, who was also King of the Netherlands, and was the personal gift of the sovereign. In 1890, Queen Wilhelmina ascended the Dutch throne but, under Salic Law, which proscribed female inheritance, Adolph of Nassau, the most senior male heir, became Grand Duke of Luxembourg and the Order purely Luxembourgeois. Since that date, the Order has been primarily awarded to nationals of Luxembourg, though it has occasionally been conferred upon foreigners, mainly on members of other Royal families. The population of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is less than 500,000 and as a consequence, all its decorations are comparatively rare.
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