The Order of the Elephant is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in 1849, is now almost exclusively used to honour royalty and heads of state.
The Blome [da; de] family coat of arms with the Order's collar on gravestone in Heiligenstedten.
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
![The Blome [da; de] family coat of arms with the Order's collar on gravestone in Heiligenstedten.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Heiligenstedten%2C_Grabmale_Blome%2C_Elefantenorden_NIK_3270.JPG/640px-Heiligenstedten%2C_Grabmale_Blome%2C_Elefantenorden_NIK_3270.JPG)
