Order of St. Stanislas Priory of Scotland
Established in Scotland in 2001. Priory re-established 2021.
Part of the Grand Priory of the United Kingdom and the International Organisation
Imperial and Royal Protector: HIRH Sandor Habsburg-Lotrhingen
Archduke of Austria, Prince of Tuscany
Saint Stanislas
The Organisation and Our Cause
A brief history...
The Order of Saint Stanislas was established on the feast of the Bishop and Martyr Saint Stanislas, on the 8th of May 1765, by King Stanislas II Augustus Poniatowski, the last native king of the Commonwealth of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
After the third and last partition of the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, between Russia, Austria and Prussia, the Order of Saint Stanislas fell into abeyance.
As a result of Napoleon’s victories, and freed from occupation, the central area of Poland was created into the ‚Duchy of Warsaw‘ under Frederick Augustus I King of Saxony, who became the second Grand Master, renewing the bestowal of the Order of Saint Stanislas. He added a second white stripe to the border of the sash.
Czar Alexander I, as the third Grand Master of the Order divided the Order into four classes and the condition to receive a higher class was to have already received a lower class. With the Russian Revolution, Czar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate in March 1917. The Order of Saint Stanislas once again fell into abeyance.
On the 9th of June in 1979, the Order of Saint Stanislas was re-established by Juliusz Nowina-Sokolnicki one of the two former legitimate Polish Governments in Exile, which was based in London.
The aim of the revived Order was to engage in philanthropic work both locally, as well as for those effected by the political situation in Poland.
Since 2018 His Royal and Imperial Highness Sandor Habsburg-Lothringen, Archduke of Austria, Prince of Hungary and Bohemia, Prince of Tuscany etc.etc., accepted the function of Royal Protector.
The Order today...
The Order continues its humanitarian mission to aid the less fortunate, and to promote culture and tradition in all the regions it exists throughout the world.
The Order's presence in Scotland was established in 2001, and the Priory of Scotland was re-established in 2021, as part of the Grand Priory of the United Kingdom, and, in turn, the wider International Organisation based in Austria. Since that time it has attracted new members, participated in or led several social initiatives, and distributed charitable donations to many local charities.
The Impact We Make
The Scottish Priory, like the Order as a whole, exists to turn fellowship into practical good - without fanfare, consistently, and with an emphasis on outcomes rather than ceremony.
We raise and steward funds through Priory activity and public-facing representation, and we direct that support where it will make a clear difference, whether to local needs in Scotland, or to the wider charitable aims of the Order. No member of the organisation, whether locally or internationally, derives a salary, and the work that the members put in is completely on a voluntary basis.
Recent examples include the collection and distribution of over 200 toys to young people and families in need over the 2025 Christmas period; the creation of saleable products for representational stalls at markets and Christmas fayres to raise funds and awareness; donations to the Red Squirrel Initiative in support of conservation; managerial oversight of a food bank in Dumfries to sustain day-to-day provision and parcels for needy young mothers with infants; and grants supporting the Order’s wider charitable work, including the Grand Prior’s recent drive to assist with rebuilding in Grenada.
Membership
The Order of Saint Stanislas is a hierarchically organised body of men and women, who support and assist in charitable work of various kinds to help poor and disadvantaged children all over the world. Originally a dynastic chivalric order from Poland, it is now an international charitable non-profit association in the form of a private chivalric order.
We strive to help others, whether it be with labour or monetary aid, wherever the need is.
Anyone who feels motivated by the principles of the Order is welcomed to contact us and apply for admission. The Order of Saint Stanislas is a registered non-governemental organisation (NGO) at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs since 2018.
Individuals resident or frequently in Scotland are invited to contact the Priory's Secretary to be included in our social and philanthropic events, and to learn more about membership.
The Order's International Structure
The Priory of Scotland is part of a larger international structure. The Order's Grand Protector if His Imperial and Royal Highness Sandor Habsburg-Lothringen. Internationally the Order is directed by the Executive Board, comprised of the Regent, Grand Chancellor, Grand Magistry, and Regency Council. Locally, the Order is Organised into Grand Priories, covering whole countries or areas, Priories, covering regions within the Grand Priories, and Commanderies or Delegations.
Make a Donation
Your Generosity Makes a Difference
Amount
£5
£10
£20
£50
£100
Other
0/100
