History

The Royal and Military Order of St. Hermenegildo (Real y Militar Orden de San Hermenegildo) was established by King Fernando VII/Ferdinand VII on November 28, 1814, after the end of the Peninsular War. It was founded in recognition of Spanish and foreign military personnel who defeated the Napoleonic army, after four year of conflict, and reconstituted Ferdinand's VII reign.

It is the first Spanish military Order awarded for length of services.

In 1931, the Second Spanish Republic modified the badge replacing the Royal Crown by the Mural Crown. Later, General Francisco Franco re-instituted the badge's design.

The Order is currently awarded in Spain in recognition of length of service to the Crown, with an unbroken record of exemplary behavior in the performance of their duties.

There are four grades; Grand Cross, Commander by Number, Commander, and Cross. It is conferred upon Generals, Officers, non-commissioned officers of the Spanish Army including the Spanish Navy and Air Force, Special forces and Civil Guard.

There is known several variation of this Order.

The Order features an obverse inscription that translates to “Award for Military Constancy.”

Until 1830, the Gold Cross featured the figure of St. Hermenegildo in multiple colors. A second model of the Gold Cross was awarded until 1850 that featured white enamel and a gold inscription surrounding the obverse medallion and the figure of St. Hermenegildo in gold.