In May 2004, five days before she married her prince, Crown Princess Mary, formerly of Tasmania, was awarded the highest honour of her adopted country, Denmark, namely the Order of the Elephant.
Now, you may wonder what relevance the elephant has to a small country in the far north of Europe. The Order of the Elephant has a long and distinguished history dating back to around 1460, when the then King of Denmark, with the blessing of the Pope, formed the Mother of God Society. The Society’s order was a medallion of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus, worn on a chain made up of castle carrying elephants.In medieval times, the imagery of the “elephant and castle” represented chivalry and strength.
After the Reformation in 1536 the religious order petered out, however, the “elephant and castle” was re-instituted as an insignia of the royal order in 1693.
Today, the Order is bestowed mainly on royalty and foreign heads of state.Some of the more noteworthy recipients have beenPresident Eisenhower, Sir Winston Churchill, Field Marshall Montgomery, Nelson Mandela, President Charles de Gaulle and Queen Elizabeth II.Since 1580, only around 980 persons have received the Order of the Elephant, So our Crown Princess Mary is indeed in very distinguished company. The Knight of the Order of the Elephant chain is worn on three celebratory days each year: New Year’s Day; Queen’s Birthday (16 April) and on the birthday of King Valdemar II (28 June).The order suspended from a blue sash is worn on all other state occasions.