Monty Python star Michael Palin has been knighted and model Twiggy made a dame in a New Year Honours list that also recognises the achievements of England manager Gareth Southgate.
Southgate becomes an OBE after guiding the Three Lions to the World Cup semi-finals in Russia – and the same honour goes to another sporting hero from 2018, Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas.
Former England cricket captain Alastair Cook and His Dark Materials author Philip Pullman are among the other new knights, while Handmaid’s Tale novelist Margaret Atwood joins the elite Companions of Honour.
There are honours and bravery medals for seven members of the team of British divers who rescued 12 young footballers from a Thai cave in July.
And 43 people – including medics and police officers – have been recognised for their response to the terror attacks in Manchester and London in 2017.
‘Ambassador for Britain’
Sir Michael’s honour means he is the first member of the Monty Python comedy group to be knighted.
But the 75-year-old, who became a CBE in 2000 for his TV work, is being recognised for services to travel, culture and geography following his career as a writer and presenter of documentaries that have taken him all over the world, most recently to North Korea.
He said to mark his latest achievement, he may “just have a quiet celebration, just myself and a glass of Horlicks and then go to bed”.
The damehood for Twiggy – born Lesley Hornby – is for services to fashion, the arts and charity.
She shot to fame as a face of 1960s London, and referring to her new title, said: “I’m a very proud Brit, I feel I’m an ambassador for Britain, I always have.
“My only sadness with this is my mum and dad aren’t here to know. They’d have been so proud.”
Southgate, whose World Cup run came less than two years after he took over as England manager, said: “I hope that everybody that has supported me throughout my career feels pride in the fact that I’ve received this honour because I wouldn’t be in this position without that help and guidance.”
Kayaking rescue
Overall, 1,148 people are on the main honours list. Some 70% of recipients are recognised for work in their community and 47% of the total are women.
The Foreign Office has announced an additional 93 honours, and there are separate lists covering the gallantry awards and for service personnel in the military.
The dramatic rescue of a boys’ football team stranded in a cave in Thailand captivated the world in July. Richard Stanton and John Volanthen, the first divers to reach the teenagers, have been given the George Medal, the second highest civilian gallantry award.
Seven firefighters who saved elderly residents from a blaze at a care home in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, in 2017, receive Queen’s Gallantry Medals.
Meanwhile, 14-year-old Joe Rowlands, from Cheshire, who saved his father from drowning in a kayaking incident off Anglesey, receives a Queen’s Commendation for Bravery.
Among those honoured after the 2017 terror attacks is Detective Chief Inspector Teresa Lam, family liaison lead for Greater Manchester Police, who receives a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to policing and the community.
Colin Kelsey, who led the NHS response to the Manchester Arena bombing, Dr Malik Ramadhan, who was in charge of A&E at the Royal London hospital after the London Bridge attack, and Paul Woodrow, operations director at the London Ambulance Service, all become OBEs.
Suffragist statue
From the arts world, there are CBEs for violinist Nicola Benedetti, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, Dunkirk director Christopher Nolan, and actress Sophie Okonedo.
Children’s book author Julia Donaldson – creator of the Gruffalo, Zog and many other much-loved characters – also receives a CBE.
Conservationist and broadcaster Chris Packham is made a CBE alongside three artists – Tacita Dean, Yinka Shonibare and Turner Prize winner Gillian Wearing. The latter’s statue of suffragist Millicent Fawcett was unveiled in Parliament Square in April.
Actors Jim Carter, who plays butler Charles Carson in Downton Abbey, and Thandie Newton, seen recently in Westworld and Line of Duty, have been made OBEs.
Mike Peters, the frontman of rock band the Alarm, has been made an MBE for services to charity. He has raised thousands for cancer care projects after recovering from the disease.
The sporting honours include an MBE for England skipper Harry Kane, who won the World Cup’s golden boot after scoring six goals at the tournament.
There is a knighthood for Bill Beaumont, former England rugby union captain, a CBE for outgoing Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore, and an OBE for jump jockey Richard Johnson.
England netball star Geva Mentor, who was part of the team’s Commonwealth Games gold medal victory, becomes a CBE.
Scotland rugby legend Doddie Weir who set up a foundation for motor neurone disease research after being diagnosed himself is made an OBE.
Former Manchester United and Northern Ireland goalkeeper Harry Gregg, 86, who survived the Munich air disaster in 1958, becomes an OBE for services to football, and there is an MBE for Rangers and Northern Ireland defender Gareth McAuley.
There are MBEs for former Fulham and West Ham player Leroy Rosenior, now vice-president of Show Racism the Red Card, for services to tackling discrimination in sport, and Women’s Sport Trust co-founder Joanna Bostock for services to gender equality.
The same honour goes to former world darts champion John Lowe, Welsh triathlete Helen Jenkins and three-time Olympic rowing silver medallist Frances Houghton.
MPs knighted
From the world of business, former Virgin Money boss Jayne-Anne Gadhia is made a dame for her contribution to financial services and women in the industry. Ann Gloag, co-founder of Stagecoach, who set up a healthcare charity for women in Africa, is recognised with a damehood for services to business and philanthropy.
The other new dames include former athlete Louise Martin, president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, and Glenda Bailey, editor of the US edition of Harper’s Bazaar magazine, for services to journalism and the GREAT Britain campaign.
Christopher Bailey-Woods, president of Burberry, and Whitbread’s chief executive Alison Brittain receive CBEs.
Three MPs have been given knighthoods for political service – Labour’s Alan Campbell, and Conservatives John Redwood and Gary Streeter.
The unexpected knighthood last month for MP John Hayes prompted speculation Downing Street would seek to use honours as an incentive to persuade politicians to back the PM’s Brexit deal.
However, decisions on awards for political service are made by an independent committee and the Cabinet Office stressed Theresa May’s “strategic steer” for this honours list had been that it supported those working to help children and tackle discrimination.
Notable figures in the world of science have been recognised with knighthoods for Jeremy Farrar, head of the Wellcome Trust, one of the world’s largest medical charities, Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser, and Ian Blatchford, director of the Science Museum Group.
There are knighthoods too for Prof Mel Greaves, who researches childhood leukaemia at the Institute for Cancer Research, and Prof Jonathan Montgomery, a specialist in healthcare law at University College London. Prof Ewan Birney, joint director of the European Bioinformatics Institute, is made CBE.
Youth magazine founder Saeed Atcha, 22, is the youngest person on the main list. His MBE is for services to young people and the community in Greater Manchester.
The oldest person is 100-year-old Robert Lingwood, a World War Two veteran who receives a British Empire Medal for services to the community in County Tyrone.
John Clough, whose daughter Jane was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in Blackpool, gets an MBE for his campaigning on behalf of domestic abuse victims, while Mark Prince, whose 15-year-old son Kiyan was killed outside a London school in 2006, has been made an OBE for tackling gang crime.
Melissa Mead, from Penryn, Cornwall, whose son William died in 2014 of blood poisoning, becomes an MBE after campaigning to raise awareness of sepsis.
The same honour goes to Colin Crooks, from social enterprise Tree Shepherd, who has helped disadvantaged communities in London since the 1980s.
The honours system
Commonly awarded ranks:
- Companion of honour – Limited to 65 people. Recipients wear the initials CH after their name
- Knight or Dame
- CBE – Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- OBE – Officer of the Order of the British Empire
- MBE – Member of the Order of the British Empire
- BEM – British Empire Medal
Source: bbc.com
