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 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) His Imperial and Royal Majesty, Emperor-King Oscar of Karnia-Ruthenia

2014

 * 1) His Imperial and Royal Highness, Archduke Ari of Karnia-Ruthenia
 * 2) Her Imperial and Royal Highness, Archduchess Denise of Karnia-Ruthenia
 * 3) His Serene Highness, Prince Andreas of Aysellant
 * 4) His Highness, Grand Duke Christian of Letzembourg
 * 5) His Highness, Prince Eitan of Szteinbaum
 * 6) His Royal Majesty, King Isaac I of Wiltogo
 * 7) His Royal Majesty, King Jeffrey I of Harenfall
 * 8) His Imperial Highness, Grand Duke Julian of Lundenwic
 * 9) His Grace, Marquis Michael of New Charter
 * 10) His Majesty, King Peter II of Santa Cruz

2015

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

2016

 * 1) His Highness, Duke Michael de Cessna of Solisia
 * 2) His Royal Highness, King Emerson of Brigantia and Afrikanda
 * 3) His Highness, Duke Edward of Romitria
 * 4) His Majesty, Emir Filipe of Takia;
 * 5) His Royal Highness, Duke Aggelos of Argadia;

2017

 * 1) His Illustrious Highness, Wilhelm, Margrave of Hochbach.
 * 2) His Serene Highness, Prince Carlo of Nossia.
 * 3) His Illustrious Majesty, Lord Henry of the Essian Commonwealth.
 * 4) His Excellency, Mr. Jacob Huff, President of the Ashukov Federation.
 * 5) His Excellency, Mr. Edward Jacobs, Vice-President of the Ashukov Federation.
 * 6) His Excellency, Mr. Manolis Afentoulis, Minister of Culture of the Ashukov Federation.
 * 7) His Royal Highness, Prince Nicholas Alexander of Ruritania.
 * 8) His Imperial and Royal Highness, Crown Prince William of North American Confederation.
 * 9) His Serene Highness, Crown Prince Jean-Rosé of Aigues-Mortes.
 * 10) His Royal Highness, Prince Ferdinand of Flandrensis.
 * 11) His Excellency, Mr. Dale Hager of Hagersbourg.
 * 12) His Sovereign Highness, Prince Thomas of Maryen.
 * 13) His Highness, Crown Prince Theodore of Maryen.
 * 14) His Royal Highness, Duke Rubens of Kürzung, Duke in Axvalley.
 * 15) His Excellency, Mr. Richard Hoffmann Belvedere, President of the Aristocratic Republic of Porto Claro.

2018

 * 1) His Most Faithful and Royal Majesty, King Marcelo of R.U.P.A.
 * 2) His Majesty, Arthur II, King of Ebenthal
 * 3) Her Royal Majesty, Marina, Queen of Manso (revoked)
 * 4) His Serene and Royal Highness, Miles I, King of Quixotica
 * 5) His Serene Highness, Yannick, Prince of Lochaber (revoked)
 * 6) His Royal Highness, Michael, Grand Duke of Nordinsel
 * 7) His August Highness, Prince Lucas of Woestein, Stadhouder of Mauricia.

2019

 * 1) His Highness, Caio, Duke of Taxus
 * 2) His Imperial and Royal Highness, Prince Jonathan, Hereditary Prince of North America.
 * 3) Her Imperial and Royal Highness, Princess Amanda, Hereditary Princess of North America.

2020

 * 1) His Serene Highness, Prince John of Noronha.
 * 2) His Majesty, Arthur II, King of Ebenthal. (second time)
 * 3) His Imperial Majesty, Leonardo, Emperor of Villa Alicia.

2021

 * 1) His Majesty, Louis-Phillipe, King of the Eminians.
 * 2) His Majesty, Matheus, King of Braspor.
 * 3) His Excellency, Mr. Marco Antonio Rino, President of Rino Island.
 * 4) Her Majesty, Maria, Queen of Sildavia.
 * 5) His Royal and Imperial Majesty, Flávio, Regent of the Holy Empire of Réunion.
 * 6) Her Imperial and Royal Majesty, Marie Elisabeth, Empress of Karnia-Ruthenia