Order of the Falcon

History and appointments

Christian X, the King of Denmark, ruled Iceland until 17 June 1944. During his royal visit to Iceland in 1921, King Christian X issued the royal decree founding the Icelandic Order of the Falcon. The Grand Master and the Chairman of the Order Council then sign the Letters Patent, which are presented to the awards's recipients.

Classes

The Order has five classes:

1. Collar with Grand Cross Breast Star (Keðja ásamt stórkrossstjörnu), only for heads of state
2. Grand Cross (Stórkross)
3. Grand Knight's Cross with Star (Stórriddarakross með stjörnu)
4. Grand Knight's Cross (Stórriddarakross)
5. Knight's Cross (Riddarakross)

Insignia

The collar is gilded metal; it consists of links bearing the Icelandic coat-of-arms and blue-enamelled discs bearing the white falcon.

The badge consists of a gilt cross, enamelled in white, with a blue-enamelled central disc bearing the white falcon.

The star is a silver, eight-pointed star. For the Grand Cross class it has the badge of the Order superimposed upon it. For the Grand Knight with Star class it has a blue-enamelled central disc bearing the white falcon.

The ribbon is blue with white-red-white border stripes. It is worn on the left shoulder.

In summary:

• Collar with Grand Cross Breast Star – wears the badge on a collar plus a star on the left chest;
• Grand Cross – wears the badge on a sash on the left shoulder, plus a star on the left chest;
• Grand Knight's Cross with Star – wears the badge on a necklet, plus a star on the left chest;
• Grand Knight's Cross – wears the badge on a necklet;
• Knight's Cross – wears the badge on a chest ribbon.

If a holder is promoted to a higher rank, the lower rank's insignia must be returned. The insignia are retained during the recipient's lifetime, but they must be returned to the Icelandic Government upon the recipient's death.

Notable recipients

Politicians and heads of state

• ISL Halla Tómasdóttir (current President of Iceland)
• ISL Guðni Th. Jóhannesson (former President of Iceland)
• ISL Guðni Ágústsson (former Minister of Agriculture)
• ISL Jóhannes Jóhannesson (First Chairman of the order council)
• ISL Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson (former President of Iceland)
• ISL Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (former president of Iceland; first popularly elected female president in the world)
• EST Lennart Meri (former President of Estonia)
• LIT Dalia Grybauskaitė (former President of Lithuania)
• FIN Alexander Stubb (President of Finland)
• FIN Sauli Niinistö (former President of Finland)
• FIN Tarja Halonen (former President of Finland)
• FIN Martti Ahtisaari (former President of Finland)
• FIN Mauno Koivisto (former President of Finland)
• FIN Urho Kekkonen (former President of Finland)
• FIN Juho Kusti Paasikivi (former President of Finland)
• FIN Kyösti Kallio (former President of Finland)
• DEU Frank-Walter Steinmeier (current President of Germany)
• UK Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (Awarded 1963), Royal Consort of Elizabeth II
• UK Elizabeth II (former Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms) Awarded in 1963
• NED Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands
• SWE Carl XVI Gustav (King of Sweden)
• SWE Silvia (Queen of Sweden)
• SWE Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden
• SWE Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland
• SWE Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland
• SWE Princess Sofia, Duchess of Värmland
• SWE Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland
• SWE Christopher O'Neill
• SWE Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson
• BEL Albert II (former King of Belgium)
• ESP Juan Carlos I of Spain (former King of Spain)
• ESP Sofía (former Queen of Spain)
• ESP Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo
• ESP Infanta Cristina of Spain
• DEN Margrethe II (former Queen of Denmark)
• DEN Frederik X (King of Denmark)
• DEN Mary (Queen of Denmark)
• DEN Prince Joachim of Denmark
• DEN Princess Marie of Denmark
• DEN Princess Benedikte of Denmark
• NOR Harald V (King of Norway)
• NOR Sonja (Queen of Norway)
• NOR Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway
• NOR Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway
• NOR Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway
• NOR Princess Märtha Louise of Norway
• NOR Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner
• CAN Janis Johnson (Canadian Senator, Manitoba) Awarded 2000
• USA Lisa Murkowski (United States Senator, Alaska)

Artists and entertainers

• ISL Björk Guðmundsdóttir (singer, songwriter), 1997
• ISL Helga Bachmann (actress)
• ISL Ragga Gísla (singer, composer, actor), 2012
• ISL Ólöf Pálsdóttir (sculptor), 1970
• ISL Steinunn Thorarinsdottir (sculptor)
• ISL Vladimir Ashkenazy (pianist, conductor)
• ISL Stefán Karl Stefánsson (actor, singer), 2018
• ISL Edda Björgvinsdóttir (actress), 2018
• ISL Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir (actress), 2023
• DEN Erling Bløndal Bengtsson (cellist)
• USA Brad Leithauser (writer, poet, scholar), awarded 2005.
• DEN Victor Borge (Børge "Victor" Rosenbaum) (concert pianist, entertainer)
• ISL Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson, Icelandic composer, awarded 1993.
• ISL Jónas Jónasson (composer, radio host), 2006
• ISL Páll Ísólfsson (organist, composer, radio host), 1940
• ISL Laufey Lín Bing Jónsdóttir (singer-songwriter), 2026

Scholars

• UK George P. L. Walker (Volcanologist)
• UK Andrew Wawn (Philologist)
• ISL Thorbergur Thorvaldson, cement chemist, awarded 1939.
• ISL Unnur Anna Valdimarsdóttir, Professor of Epidemiology, University of Iceland, awarded 2023.
• UK A. R. Taylor, Professor of medieval English, Old Norse and modern Icelandic Studies, University of Leeds, awarded 1963
• UK Rory McTurk, Professor of Icelandic Studies, University of Leeds, awarded 2007
• UK Mark Watson, archaeologist, dog breeder and benefactor, awarded 1965
• AUS William Paton Cleland (Surgeon)
• SWE Anders Grubb, Professor of Clinical Chemistry, University of Lund, awarded 2007 for research on Icelandic hereditary diseases
• USA John Lindow, Professor Emeritus of Old Norse and Folklore at University of California, Berkeley, awarded 2018 for scholarly contributions in the area of Icelandic medieval literature.
• USA Carol J. Clover, Professor of Medieval Studies (Early Northern Europe) and American Film at the University of California, Berkeley.
• USA Lee M. Hollander, translator of Kierkegaard and academic.
• ISL Sigrún Árnadóttir, awarded the Knight's Cross for the translation of several books to Icelandic including Alfie Atkins and for her contributions to Icelandic children's culture.

Other

• ISL Friðrik Skúlason (computer scientist), 2018
• ISL Guðmundur Kjærnested (Commander, Icelandic Coast Guard)
• ISL Iceland men's national handball team (Silver medalists in handball at the 2008 Summer Olympics)
• ISL Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson (chief goði of the Ásatrúarfélagið), 2018
• ISL Monika Helgadóttir (farmer), 1953
• ISL Orri Vigfússon (Chairman of the North Atlantic Salmon Fund)
• ISL Sunna Olafson Furstenau (Founder/Pres Icelandic Roots; Þjóðræknisfélag Ísland, INL in USA & Canada), 2017
• USA Anna Kisselgoff (Columbia Univ.) Awarded 2002
• USA David Architzel (Vice Admiral, US Navy)
• USA James L. Kauffman, Vice-admiral during World War II
• USA John W. White, USAF General, Commander Iceland Defense Force
• USA William S. Key, Major General during World War II
• UK Pike Ward, fisherman who started and developed the Icelandic fishing industry, awarded 1936
• UK Sir Arthur Young, police officer
• Canada Beverly Arason-Gaudet, (President, Icelandic National League of North America), 2019
• FIN Antti Tuuri (Writer) translated some Icelandic sagas
• YUG Koča Popović (Colonel General, YPA)
• Canada Signy Stefansson Eaton, socialite and philanthropist of Icelandic descent
• PortugalLeonor Beleza, lawyer, former Minister of Health and 1st President of the Champalimaud Foundation

Notes

References

1. "The Order of the Falcon". English.forseti.is.
2. (1968). "Eurooppalaiset kunniamerkit värikuvina". WSOY.
3. [https://grapevine.is/mag/articles/2011/08/24/the-fellowship-of-the-order-of-the-falcon/ The Fellowship of the Order of the Falcon] - website of [[The Reykjavík Grapevine]]
4. "Statsbesök från Island {{!}} Kungahuset".
5. (24 May 2021). "Sen. Murkowski honored by Iceland's president".
6. "Ellefu sæmd fálkaorðu".
7. Árni Heimir Ingólfsson, “Ísólfsson, Páll”, In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press; https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.13946, (accessed 19 November 2023).
8. "Laufey and Bragi Valdimar among recipients of the Order of the Falcon".
9. Caroline Richmond, ''Obituary of William Paton Cleland (1912-2005)'', British Medical Journal, 2005, 330; 1212; [https://www.bmj.com/cgi/reprint/330/7501/1212.pdf pdf]