Order of St. Stephen

The Order of St. Stephen is a dynastic order of knighthood founded in Persenburg by Emperor-King Oscar of Karnia-Ruthenia in 2014, to celebrate the Hungarian ancestry of his mother and the patron saint of Imperial and Royal Family, St. Stephen of Hungary. The current sovereign of the order is also its founder, the Emperor-King of Karnia-Ruthenia.

Origin
Established on 25 November 2014, the Order was the first honor created in the kingdom. The idea was to establish a deep connection to the patron saint of the Kingdom of Ruthenia, St. Stephen. Until the creation of the Order of the Ruthenian Eagle and the replacement of it by the Order of the Edelweiss after the proclamation of the Empire, the Order of St. Stephen was the highest award of the country for a short period of time, but it is the most traditional of the awards within the Empire, and is also the oldest. During the period in which Ruthenia was only one kingdom, the award was granted only seventeen times.

When the Empire was founded and immediately after the signing of the Karno-Ruthenian Compromise of 2016, the Order of the Edelweiss was founded to be the highest honor of the micronation. Following, the Order of the Ruthenian Eagle was discontinued along other Ruthenian honors, but the Order of St. Stephen was maintained and became the second most important honor of Karnia-Ruthenia.

Precedence and privileges
Knights and Ladies of the Order are assigned positions in the order of precedence, ranking above all others of knightly rank, with the exception of the Knights of the Order of the Edelweiss. Wives, sons, daughters and daughters-in-law of Knights of the Order of St. Stephen also feature on the order of precedence; relatives of Dames of St. Stephen, however, are not assigned any special precedence. Generally, individuals can derive precedence from their fathers or husbands, but not from their mothers or wives.

After the establisment of Karnia-Ruthenia, the prefixes of "Sir" for Knights and "Lady" for the Dames was abolished. When an individual is entitled to use multiple post-nominal letters, "RKSS" or "RLSS" appears before all others, adding an "R" to the old post-nominal "KSS" for Knights and "LSS" for Dames. Knights and Dames may encircle their arms with the circlet of the Order.

2014 - current

 * 1) Karniarutheniaflag.png His Imperial and Royal Majesty, Emperor-King Oscar of Karnia-Ruthenia

2014

 * 1) Karniarutheniaflag.png His Imperial and Royal Highness, Archduke Ari of Karnia-Ruthenia
 * 2) Karniarutheniaflag.png Her Imperial and Royal Highness, Archduchess Denise of Karnia-Ruthenia
 * 3) Karniarutheniaflag.png Her Imperial and Royal Majesty, Empress-Queen Paloma of Karnia-Ruthenia
 * 4) Ausland.jpg His Serene Highness, Prince Andreas of Aysellant
 * 5) LetzemburgFlagCivil.png His Highness, Grand Duke Christian of Letzembourg
 * 6) Civil_flag_of_Acrin.png His Highness, Prince Eitan of Szteinbaum
 * 7) 4904768_orig.png His Royal Majesty, King Isaac I of Wiltogo
 * 8) 6612831_orig.png His Royal Majesty, King Jeffrey I of Harenfall
 * 9) lundenwicflag1.png His Imperial Highness, Grand Duke Julian of Lundenwic
 * 10) lundenwicflag1.png His Grace, Marquis Michael of New Charter
 * 11) BANDEIRA DO REINO.jpg His Majesty, King Peter II of Santa Cruz

2015

 * 1) LibertiaFlag.png His Royal Highness, Duke Guilherme da Lomellina e Berenguer of Libertia
 * 2) LibertiaFlag.png Her Royal Highness, Duchess Tânya Correa d'Ornellas of Libertia
 * 3) Karniarutheniaflag.png His Grace, Count Yuri de Faria
 * 4) LibertiaFlag.png His Royal Highness, Prince Alexandro of Lomellina e Berenguer
 * 5) 524797_320591014661831_1443055758_n.jpg His Holy Imperial Majesty, Emperor Claudio I of Reunion
 * 6) Abeldane flag.jpg His Imperial and Royal Majesty, Emperor Stephen of the Abeldane Empire

2016

 * 1) 1-e06adeffde431f063a368f22c9cd2a93.jpg His Royal Majesty, King Thomas of Cumagne
 * 2) Empire_Lemuria_Tricolor_Flag.png His Highness, Duke Michael de Cessna of Solisia
 * 3) Brigantia.png His Royal Highness, King Emerson of Brigantia and Afrikanda
 * 4) Flag of Romitria.png His Highness, Duke Edward of Romitria