Sweden, Kingdom. A "Riksakten" Union Arms of Sweden and Norway Badge

In silver with red, white, blue and yellow enamels, marked "925" (silver) and maker marked on the reverse, measuring 27.5 mm (w) x 35 mm (h), horizontal pinback, chipping evident in the yellow enamels at the tip of the shield at 6 o'clock, otherwise the enamels are intact, better than very fine.

Footnote: The Riksakten was the 1815 Act of Union that regulated the terms of the constitutional personal union between Sweden and Norway established in 1814. The fundamental documents of the union were only the Convention of Moss and the revised Norwegian constitution of November 4, 1814. The Norwegian constitution had been adapted to the union before it was entered into, but the Swedish one was never adjusted correspondingly. The conservative Swedish Riksdag had not allowed the Swedish constitution of 1809 to be revised. Therefore, a bilateral treaty had to be negotiated in order to clarify procedures for treating constitutional questions that had to be decided jointly by both governments. The Act of Union (Riksakten) was negotiated during the spring of 1815, with prime minister Peder Anker leading the Norwegian delegation. The treaty contained twelve articles dealing with the king's authority, the relationship between the two legislatures, how the executive power was to be exercised if the king should die before the crown prince had attained majority, and the relationship between the cabinets. It also confirmed the practice of treating questions of foreign policy in the Swedish cabinet, with the Norwegian prime minister present. Vital questions pertaining to the Union were to be treated in a joint cabinet meeting, where all the Norwegian ministers in Stockholm would be present. The Act was passed by the Storting on July 31, 1815 and by the Riksdag August 6th, and sanctioned by the king on August 15th. In Sweden, the Act of Union was a set of provisions under regular law, but the Norwegian Storting gave it constitutional status, so that its provisions could only be revised according to the procedures laid down in the constitution. The Union Arms of Sweden and Norway presented here was introduced in 1844.