King Nicholas I founded this Order in 1896 to commemorate the 200 years of rule of the House of Petrovic-Njegos.

In the same year of the foundation of the Order and Dynastic celebration, King Nicholas's fifth daughter, Princess Elena of Montenegro, married Prince Victor Emmanuel of Savoy, the heir to the Italian Throne.

The Order is given to members of the Dynasty and kinsmen exclusively and is not an Order that is generally given beyond that. The Order was not bestowed in 1996 while Montenegro remained a non-sovereign state.

In 2008, celebrating the passage of 300 years since the first Petrovic Njegoš rulers ascent, the Crown Prince of Montenegro bestowed the Order in recognition of this landmark.

The upper arm of the cross bears the Cyrillic initial "D" that stands for Danilo I - the first Petrovic Njegos Hereditary Bishop - and the lower one "N" for Nicholas I. The remaining two arms of the cross indicate the date of the first rule by the dynasty and of the foundation of the Order.

Living recipients
H.R.H. Crown Prince Nikola II of Montenegro (Grand Master)
H.R.H. Hereditary Prince Boris, Grand Duke of Grahavo and Zeta (Vice-Grand Master)
H.R.H. Princess Véronique of Montenegro, Grand Duchess of Grahavo and Zeta
H.R.H. Princess Altinai of Montenegro
H.H. Prince Nicholas Romanovich of Russia
H.S.H. Prince Dimitri Romanovich of Russia
H.R.H. Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy, Prince of Naples
H.R.H. Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Prince of Venice
H.E. John Gvozdenović Kennedy (Grand Chancellor)