Royal and Merciful Society of the Bearer of Medals and Awards of Belgium



The Royal and Merciful Society of Bearers of Medals and Awards of Belgium (Koninklijke en Menslievende Vereniging van Dragers van Eretekens en Medailles van Belgie) was founded in 1865. The headquarters of the Royal Society is located in Heule, Belgium.

Patronage
The Royal Society is under the protection of the King of the Belgians.


 * State Coat of Arms of Belgium.svg Royal Protector: Philippe - King of the Belgians.

Members
The Royal and Merciful Society of the Bearer of Medals and Awards of Belgium elects as members, persons who were honoured for their acts of either courage, self-sacrifice or charity.

Members must have an excellent reputation and their awards for the above acts must be, by the Belgian State or any other State which has been recognized by the Belgian State.

Moreover, there are associate members that support the objectives of the Royal Association.

Structure
The Royal and Merciful Society of the Bearer of Medals and Awards of Belgium is governed by a national board of directors. At the top is the protector, Philippe - King of the Belgians. The Honorary Chairman is the Mayor of Brussels. The Society is made up of the Belgian provinces and the external Regions.

Provinces

 * Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Kingdom of Belgium:
 * Province Brabant
 * Province East Flanders
 * Province West Flanders
 * Province Hainaut
 * Province Namur
 * Province Liège
 * Province Limburg

External Regions

 * Flag of Germany.svg Region of Germany
 * Flag of France.svg Region of France
 * Flag of the Netherlands.svg Region of the Netherlands

Medals and awards
The Royal and Merciful Society of the Bearer of Medals and Awards of Belgium gives two kinds of awards: The Order of the Belgian Cross (Orde van het belgisch Kruis) and Medals of Gratitude (Erkentelijkheidmedailles). An Honorary Cross for humanitarian merit is also awarded.

Honorary Cross

 * Ehrenkreuz.png Honorary Cross, Awarded for outstanding humanitarian work and merit.

Order of the Belgian Cross
The Order is awarded in five classes which are, in descending order of precedence:
 * BEL OBK Großkreuz.png Grand Cross (GKBK)
 * BEL OBK Großoffizier.png Grand Officer (GOBK)
 * BEL OBK Kommandeur.png Commander (CBK)
 * BEL OBK Offizier.png Officer (OBK)
 * BEL OBK Ritter.png Knight (RBK)

The Order is exclusively reserved for full members and is awarded for outstanding social achievements.

Medals of Gratitude
There are two kinds of Medals of Gratitude: The "Palms of Mercy" (Palmen van Menslievenheid) and the "Medal of the Belgian Crown" (Medal van Gekroont Belgie).

Palms of Mercy
There are the following classes:
 * MBK-Gold1.png Gold Medal
 * MBK-Silber.png Silver Medal
 * MBK-Bronze.png Bronze Medal

Medal of the Belgian Crown
There are the following classes:
 * MBK-Gold2.png Gold Medal
 * MBK-Silber1.png Silver Medal
 * MBK-Bronze1.png Bronze Medal

Publications
The Royal Society publishes the following journal:


 *  DE PHILANTHROPIST 

It appears on a quarterly basis.