Order of the Pavillon

The Order of the Pavilion [Ordre du Pavillon], also called the Order of the Terrace, was a minor order of chivalry established in 1717, during the regency of Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (the Regent), for the eight-year-old King of France, Louis XV, and became extinct a few years later.

The diplomat and memoirist Philippe de Courcillon, Marquis de Dangeau, who was present at court, recorded—and the Duke of Saint-Simon incorporated this into his own memoirs—that the underage king enjoyed bestowing this order on courtiers of his own age and on a few young servants. At the same time, Louis XV granted the young order-holders the privilege of entering without invitation the tent (French: pavillon) that he had set up on the château terrace whenever he was outdoors.

The badge was a gold, enamelled cross, showing a tent on the obverse and the rotating ring [anneau tournant] on the reverse, a game of skill invented by Louis XIV in 1689. It was worn on a blue-and-white sash. Louis XV wore it below the blue sash.

As a French order, the Order of the Pavilion should be regarded as a royal gesture toward the childhood companions of the child king.