The Order of the Holy Spirit, the premier Order of France, was instituted by King Henry III on 30.12.1578 and was named in commemoration of Whitsunday, a festival of particular importance to the King, as on that day he was born in 1551, elected King of Poland in 1573 and ascended the throne of France in 1574. The object of the Order was the maintainance of the Roman Catholic faith and the dignity of the nobility. The Order consisted of 100 Knights and an unspecified number of foreigners. The colour of its riband gave it the popular name of the Cordon bleu.