The order of merit was in its turn dissolved and King Frederick William IV of Prussia, again exercising the powers of the kings of Prussia as protectors of the Order, restored the original Bailiwick in 1852. The eight surviving knights of justice of the original Order were among its first members; in 1853, they elected the younger brother of the Prussian king, Prince Friedrich Karl Alexander, the new "Herrenmeister" of the restored Order. He announced his election to the head of the Order of Malta, who in acknowledgement recognized this restoration as the continuation of the historic Bailiwick. The "Johanniterorden" and its branches became fully independent of the Roman Catholic grand master in Rome, although the "Herrenmeisters" then and since have continuously and explicitly recognized the Order's historical connection with the Roman Catholic Order of Malta.