On his 44th birthday, four years after his wife’s death, Louise’s widower King Frederick William III of Prussia instituted the Order of Louise (Luisenorden).
The order was intended for “women who had made a distinguished contribution to the war effort.”1 It resembled the Iron Cross in shape, but it was enamelled in Prussian blue and mounted in the centre with a medallion bearing the late Queen’s initial. Prussian women from all backgrounds were eligible to receive it. When Amalia Beer, a Jewish woman, received the medal for her charitable and fundraising work, the King made sure the cross was modified so as not to offend.
The King emphasised the women’s contribution in the inauguration document. It said, “When the men of our brave armies bled for their Fatherland, they found refreshment and relief in the comforting care of the women. The mothers and daughters of this land feared for their loved ones fighting the enemy, and they grieved for the fallen, but faith and hope gave them the strength to find peace in tireless work for the cause of the Fatherland… It is impossible to honour all of those who decorated their lives with these deeds of quiet service, but We think it fair to honour those among them whose merit is recognised as especially great.”2
It was perhaps one of the first times the contributions of women were celebrated.
The order was later also given to the female members of the House of Hohenzollern and foreign royal women despite its original intent of honouring the women in the war effort against Napoleon.
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