Décoration de la Fidélité

The Decoration of Fidelity [Décoration de la Fidélité] was created by royal ordinance of King Louis XVIII dated 5 February 1816, for the benefit of the approximately 600 Paris National Guardsmen who served in 1815, replacing the Lily Decoration [Décoration du Lys] previously awarded.

It was therefore a special version of the Lily Decoration, strictly reserved for the Paris National Guardsmen.

It existed in two classes, silver and gold, but it would seem that the latter was awarded very rarely.

The ordinance of 10 February 1831 officially confirmed the abolition of the Decoration.

The Decoration of Fidelity was often wrongly called the “Order of Fidelity,” as was the Lily Decoration. However, it must be acknowledged that all official texts refer to a “decoration” and not an “Order”: there was neither a grand master nor a specific chancellery; despite this, even today, many books and catalogues specializing in decorations call it the “Order of Fidelity”.