The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: Royal Order of the Sword; Swedish: Kungliga Svärdsorden) is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Seraphim and the Order of the Polar Star. The motto of the order is in Latin: Pro Patria (which means "For Fatherland"). Awarded to officers, and originally intended as an award for bravery and particularly long or useful service, it eventually became a more or less obligatory award for military officers after a certain number of years in service. There were originally three grades, Knight, Commander and Commander Grand Cross, but these were later multiplied by division into classes. On 20 December 2022, the Swedish Government published a new regulation that repealed the 1974 regulation, and once again opened the Royal Orders to Swedish citizens again and reactivated the Sword Order and Vasa Order, which came in effect from 1 February 2023. History The order was created by King Frederick I in 1748, along with two other orders, the Order of the Seraphim and the Order of the Polar Star. In 1788, King Gustav III created two new grades of the order, which could only be bestowed in war time: "Knight Grand Cross First Class" – The cross is in shape similar to the Knight's cross, but as large as the Grand Cross badge and is worn on a necklet, and the star is in the shape of an upraised silver sword. It was awarded to division commanders of at least the rank of a major general for achieving a major victory in battle. Even the monarch could only wear the insignia Knight Grand Cross by the unanimous decision of his officers (e.g., Gustavus III, Charles XIII and Charles XIV John. "Knight Grand Cross" – The cross is in shape similar to the Knight's cross, but as large as the Grand Cross badge and is worn on a necklet, and the star is in the shape of two crossed upright silver swords. These grades proper were only given to commissioned officers, but an affiliated decoration, the Svärdstecken ("Badge of the Sword"), introduced in 1850, was given to non-commissioned officers; one thus decorated would call himself a svärdsman ("Swordsman"). A Medal of the Sword was also introduced for enlisted men. Both the non-commissioned officers and the enlisted men had to