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| Order of the Million Elephants and the White Parasol ອິສະຣິຍາພອນລ້ານຊ້າງຮົ່ມຂາວ | |
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| Awarded by the King of Laos | |
| Status | Extinct as the Kingdom, now Dynastic award |
| Sovereign | Sisavang Vong Savang Vatthana |
| Grades | Grand Cross with Collar Grand Cross Grand Officer Commander Officer Knight |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | None; highest. |
| Next (lower) | Order of the Crown |
 Ribbon of the Order | |
The Order of the Million Elephants and the White Parasol, also called the Order of the Million Elephants and the White Umbrella (Lao: ອິສະຣິຍາພອນລ້ານຊ້າງຮົ່ມຂາວ Itsariyaphon Lan Sang Hom Khao), is the highest knighthood order of the Royal Family of Laos.
History
The Order was founded on 1 May 1909 by King Sisavang Vong.
The name of the order reflected an old name of Laos, Lan Xang Hom Khao which means "million elephants and white umbrella".
The Royal system of Orders and Medals effectively ended with the fall of Laos in 1975. The Royal Orders, by their nature, remain the dynastic property of the Royal House of Laos in absentia, and are still awarded by the Royal House as a dynastic award. The honour is still awarded in recognition of dedicated services to charity and humanitarianism. All grades of the Order are approved for wear as a foreign order (i.e. after all British and other Commonwealth decorations) by Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, as it is on the "Schedule of Approved Countries and Awards".
Classes
The Order consisted of the following classes, in descending order:
- Grand Cross with Collar
- Grand Cross (ປະຖະມາພອນ Pathamaphon)
- Grand Officer (ທຸຕິຍາພອນ Thutiyaphon)
- Commander (ຕະຕິຍາພອນ Tatiyaphon)
- Officer (ຈະຕູດຖາພອນ Jatutthaphon)
- Knight (ປັນຈະມາພອນ Panchamaphon)
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Insignia
The ribbon on which the Order is worn is red, ornamented with a yellow geometrical design.
Notable recipients
- Crown of Nepal
- Crown of Thailand
- Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand (1963)
- Sirikit, Queen consort of Thailand (1963)
- Plaek Phibunsongkhram, Prime Minister of Thailand
- Sarit Thanarat, Prime Minister of Thailand
- Thanom Kittikachorn, Prime Minister of Thailand
- Crown of Cambodia
- Sisowath Monivong, King of Cambodia (1927–1941)
- Norodom Suramarit, King of Cambodia (1955–1960) (1955)
- Norodom Sihanouk, King of Cambodia (1941–1955) / (1993–2004)
- Crown of Vietnam
- French Republic
- Others
- Hamengkubuwano VIII
- James Greenway
- Eisaku Sato
- BG. Dean Murphy USV-JSC
- BG. Robert C. Quesada USV-JSC
Notes
- The Illustrated London News, vol. 138 (1911), part 1, p. 138
- Bijan Raj Chatterjee, Southeast Asia in Transition (1965), p. 18
- "Accepting and wearing of foreign awards by Australians | Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia". www.gg.gov.au.
External links
Media related to Order of the Million Elephants and the White Parasol at Wikimedia Commons
