Prince Krzysztof Radziwill is the third royal to consent to be a Royal Patron of our noble Order. Prince Radziwill is especially important to our Order because our previous Grand Master General Antoine (Andrej) Zdrojewski, was a leader of the Polish Resistance Forces in France during the Second World War. In 1971 General Zdrojewski was elected Grand Master of the OSMTJ. He died in 1989 in France. 

Prince Radziwill was born on December 18, 1958 in Sopot. Mother Jadwiga née Piotrowska, father Konstanty Radziwiłł, siblings Barbara born in 1961 in Gdańsk. Secondary technical education, until 1985 worked in various workplaces, often dismissed because of political views, from 1985 sought asylum in Germany. After the announcement of the fall of communism in Poland, returned to the country and worked in business. From 1999, was active in the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem. Belongs to the Association of the Bronze Bell Brotherhood in Krakow. Is a bachelor with many markings and medals.

Bóg nam radzi (The Lord is Our Counsel) is the famous family motto of one of the most prominent Polish aristocratic families of Lithuanian extraction-the Radziwiłłs. Looking back at its history, it is clear that, apart from Providence, it has been Radziwiłłs’ notion of kinship and family solidarity that guided them throughout the often-turbulent Polish history. While other families prospered only for three, four generations, Radziwiłłs have not only kept their influential profile for over five hundred years, but have done so ‘in style’, acquiring and maintaining great wealth and influence until the beginning of World War II. This family has produced many outstanding politicians, military commanders, clergymen, cultural benefactors and entrepreneurs who left a significant mark on the Polish and Lithuanian history and culture.

In 1518, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I created Mikalojus Radvila’s son, Mikołaj, Reichsfürst (“Imperial Prince”) of Goniądz and Meteliai after the Jagiellonian-Habsburg congress at Vienna. Mikołaj Radziwiłł also received an expanded, more solemn coat of arms: as princes of the Holy Roman Empire, the Radziwiłłs bore a black eagle, on whose breast is a shield with Trąby and other emblems. The family motto is “God advises us” (Polish: Bóg nam radzi, Belarusian: Бог нам раіць, Boh nam rajić).

In 1547, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, created Mikołaj “the Black” and his brother, Jan, hereditary Reichsfürsten of Nesvizh and Olyka; their cousin Mikołaj “the Red” Radziwiłł was created Reichsfürst of Biržai and Dubingiai. The same year King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland married Barbara Radziwiłł and confirmed these titles in 1549. So high a title was rare among the szlachta (the Polish nobility): just five Polish families, including the Radziwiłłs, received the title of imperial prince from the Holy Roman emperor.