Order of Elizabeth

The Imperial Austrian Order of Elizabeth (German: Kaiserlich österreichischer Elisabeth-Orden), founded in 1898 by Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, was an order created for women. The order was the namesake of Saint Elisabeth of Hungary, but it was created to honor and memorialize Franz Joseph's late wife, Empress-Queen Elisabeth.

The order was divided into three classes: Grand Cross, first and second classes. There was also an Elizabeth Medal for civil merit.

The Order
According to medal expert and collector Yuri Yashnev: The award was intended for ladies, regardless of social status or religion, for merits in religious and charitable work. The award had four degrees - the Grand Cross, I Degree and II Degree, and also a cross of merit... Awards were made, personally, by the emperor... the badges and insignia of the Order were to be returned to the state upon the death of the member, or upon the advancement from a lower degree to a higher degree... There were 81 awards of the Grand Cross, 332 awards of the I Degree, 500 awards of the II Degree, and 208 awards of the Elizabeth Medal for merit, between 1898 and 1918, when the Order was disbanded with the collapse of the monarchy.

Austrian

 * Archduchess Gisela of Austria
 * Princess Isabella of Croÿ
 * Archduchess Maria Annunciata of Austria
 * Maria Christina of Austria
 * Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria
 * Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg
 * Irma Sztáray

Foreign

 * Alexandra of Denmark
 * Augusta Viktoria, German Empress
 * Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
 * Charlotte of Schaumburg-Lippe
 * Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont
 * Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine
 * Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
 * Marie, Queen of Romania
 * Mary of Teck
 * Milena of Montenegro
 * Stephanie of Belgium
 * Princess Thyra of Denmark
 * Victoria of Baden
 * Victoria Eugenie, Queen of Spain
 * Anne Weightman
 * Wilhelmina of the Netherlands