Military Order of the Tower and Sword
The Ancient and Most Noble Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of the Valour, Loyalty and Merit, before 1910 Royal Military Order of the Tower and Sword, is a Portuguese order of knighthood and the pinnacle of the Portuguese honours system. It was created by King Afonso V in 1459. The order may be bestowed on people or on Portuguese municipalities.
Badge, collar and star of the order
Insignia from the 19th century
An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is an order of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades and paired with medieval concepts of ideals of chivalry.
Alfonso XIII of Spain (left) with his cousin-in-law, the future King George V (right), during his State Visit to the United Kingdom in 1905. Alfonso is wearing the uniform of a general of the British Army, the Royal Victorian Chain, the sash and star of the Garter, the cross of the Order of Charles III, the neck badge of the Golden Fleece, and the badge of the four Spanish military orders. George, then Prince of Wales, is wearing the neck badge of the Golden Fleece, the sash and grand cross grade of the Order of Charles III, the Royal Victorian Chain, and the stars of the Garter and the
Investiture of three new members of the Order of the Knot (miniature from the order's statutes, 1352/4).
Spanish orders of chivalry. In the centre, the Order of the Golden Fleece, 1820
Lemuel Francis Abbott's portrait of Admiral Lord Nelson depicting his honours embroidered on his coat jacket
