Fashion designer Stella McCartney, TV presenter Clare Balding and Welsh footballer Gareth Bale have been awarded British honours as part of Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee honours list.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the honours list unveiled on Wednesday was intended to reflect the personal qualities of the queen as she marks 70 years on the throne.
“The honours she confers this week reflect many of those qualities,” Mr Johnson said. “I pay tribute to all of this year’s winners. Their stories of courage and compassion are an inspiration to us all.”
The 1,134 awards celebrating public and community service included honours for a 104-year-old dance teacher and two 11-year-old twins who raised money for the National Health Service.
Author Salman Rushdie and illustrator Quentin Blake were admitted to the elite fold of Companions of Honour, of whom there are only 65 at any time.
There was a knighthood for crime author Ian Rankin, a CBE for actor Damian Lewis and OBEs for cricketer Moeen Ali and retired footballer Rio Ferdinand.
The queen, 96, is the first British monarch to reign for 70 years. The government said there was a particular emphasis on long public service, the environment, sustainability and youth engagement on the platinum jubilee awards.
-
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II leads the lighting of the principal jubilee beacon, part of the platinum jubilee celebrations, at Windsor Castle. Reuters -
Fireworks explode above Blackpool Tower to celebrate the jubilee. Reuters -
The 'Tree Of Trees' by designer Thomas Heatherwick at a special ceremony for the lighting of the principal beacon at Buckingham Palace, London. AFP -
Thousands wait for the royal family to appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, on the first day of celebrations to mark Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee. AP -
The Trooping the Colour ceremony is carried out at Horse Guards, London. AP -
French President Emmanuel Macron stands next to British ambassador to France Menna Rawlings, after rekindling the flame under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris to mark the British queen's platinum jubilee. Reuters -
Francis Mwangi, 13, uses an Oculus virtual reality headset to visit Buckingham Palace virtually during platinum jubilee celebrations in Nyeri, Kenya. Reuters -
The Red Arrows perform a flypast over the Horse Guards parade, London. Trooping The Colour is a military ceremony performed by regiments of the British Army. It has taken place since the mid-17th century. Getty Images -
Prince Louis holds his ears as he stands next to Queen Elizabeth, his mother Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte and Prince George to watch a special flypast from the Buckingham Palace balcony. AFP -
Crowds gather to watch a flypast by the Red Arrows during Queen Elizabeth's platinum jubilee celebrations. EPA -
Royal fans wear Queen Elizabeth masks during jubilee celebrations. EPA -
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Prince Charles greet royal well-wishers near Buckingham Palace. Bloomberg -
Spectators watch the RAF flypast on The Mall after the Trooping the Colour parade in London. Getty Images -
The RAF flypast on The Mall to mark the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on February 6, 1952. Getty Images -
From left, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Prince of Wales , Queen Elizabeth II , the Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte, Prince George, and the Duke of Cambridge, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to view the RAF flypast on day one of the platinum jubilee celebrations. PA -
Members of the public fill The Mall ahead of a fly-past over Buckingham Palace during Trooping The Colour in London. Trooping The Colour, also known as The Queen's Birthday Parade, is a military ceremony performed by regiments of the British Army that has taken place since the mid-17th century. Getty Images -
Members of the Honourable Artillery Company perform a gun salute during celebrations to mark the platinum jubilee of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, at the Tower of London. Reuters -
The Royal Gun Salute in Cardiff to mark the start of the platinum jubilee weekend. AP -
Queen Elizabeth II watches from the balcony during Trooping the Colour at Horse Guards Parade, central London, on day one of the platinum jubilee weekend celebrations. PA -
Prince Charles being driven to the parade. Getty -
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, with Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge at the Trooping the Colour parade. Getty -
Police officers intervene as protesters try to disrupt the ceremony during the queen's platinum Jubilee celebrations on The Mall in London. Reuters -
The Mall is packed for the wekeend's celebrations. PA -
The Kings Troop of the Royal Horse Artillery ride down The Mall on their way to fire the ceremonial gun. AP -
(L-R) Prince George of Cambridge, Prince Louis of Cambridge and Princess Charlotte of Cambridge travel in a horse-drawn carriage during Trooping The Colour. Getty -
An Irish wolfhound leads as soldiers march along The Mall. AP -
Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex ride in a carriage as the Royal Procession leaves Buckingham Palace for the Trooping the Color ceremony. AP -
The BT tower in central London bears a message to Queen Elizabeth II. AFP -
The 206 Battery of the Royal Artillery, the Ulster Gunners, fire a midday commemorative gun salute in honour of the beginning of the queen's platinum jubilee celebrations, at Hillsborough Castle, Northern Ireland. Reuters -
Sydney Harbour Bridge is illuminated in 'Royal Purple' to mark the 70th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. AP -
The 105th Regiment Royal Artillery, The Scottish and Ulster Gunners during the royal gun salute at Edinburgh Castle. PA -
Marching in Horse Guards Parade, central London. Getty -
People gather at The Mall in London to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee. Reuters -
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, is driven along The Mall. Huge crowds are expected in the city as the UK marks the jubilee. AFP -
The Band of the Welsh Guards make their way to the Trooping the Colour event in London. AP -
The platinum jubilee marks the 70th anniversary of the queen taking the throne. Reuters -
Jubilant crowds in London. Reuters -
A Buckingham Palace staff member cleans the balcony where the queen is expected to wave to well-wishers. AFP -
A man walks his corgis Chuckles and Bunting down The Mall during the celebrations. Reuters -
Police officers cycle down The Mall. Reuters -
The Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery fires field guns at Point Jerningham, to mark the 70th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, in Wellington, New Zealand. AP -
The official platinum jubilee portrait of Queen Elizabeth, taken at Windsor Castle recently. Photo: Buckingham Palace -
Larry the Cat, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, sits outside Downing Street, London, adorned in bunting before the platinum jubilee celebrations, in London. AP -
A look-alike of Queen Elizabeth waves at people in London. The queen's platinum jubilee will be celebrated from June 2 to June 5 to mark the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne on February 6, 1952. EPA -
People walk along The Mall in London, before the start of the Queen's platinum jubilee weekend. AP -
Joseph Afrane, 58, originally from Ghana, lives in Battersea, London, and is planning to attend all the official platinum jubilee events. PA -
Twins Linda Whitfield and Janice Jones, 59, from County Durham, are camping on The Mall to ensure they have a good view of the celebrations. PA -
Members of the public walk through Piccadilly Circus before the platinum jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth. AFP
Women made up 52 per cent of honours recipients, a record. The proportion of award recipients from ethnic minority backgrounds was 13 per cent, down slightly on last year's birthday honours list.
Balding, honoured with a CBE for services to sport and charity, said it was “overwhelming to be recognised for doing things I enjoy so much”.
“I love being given the opportunity to broadcast sporting events and to talk about the positive impact of sport,” she said.
Ali said his OBE had made his family proud and happy, while Blake, known for his illustrations of Roald Dahl's books, said it was an “enormous privilege” to become one of the Companions of Honour.
McCartney, who received a CBE, designed the reception dress for Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, to wear after her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018. She was also behind the uniforms of British athletes at the London 2012 Olympics.
Bale, who donated to hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic, received an MBE for services to football and charity.
Liverpool player James Milner received the same award for “the great work his foundation undertakes” to promote sport for young people, the government said.
Also knighted was Nicholas Coleridge, one of the organisers of a three-kilometre central London pageant on Sunday, which is one of the centrepieces of the jubilee celebrations.
In politics, Northern Ireland's former first minister Arlene Foster received a damehood while Conservative MP Jeremy Wright was knighted — days after calling for Mr Johnson to resign over the partygate scandal.
His fellow Tory MP Tracey Crouch received a CBE for her work on football governance while opposition Labour MPs Stephen Timms and Nia Griffith were made a knight and dame.
“This is the platinum jubilee year and Her Majesty, the Queen has given so much devotion and service to the country, so to receive it in her platinum jubilee year is really special for me,” Ms Foster said.
There was a second successive honour for the family of former prime minister Tony Blair, who was knighted at the New Year. His son Euan was named an MBE for services to education in his role as founder of Multiverse, which provides apprenticeship programmes.
Researchers Prof James Durrant, Prof John Barrett and Dr Richard Tippier were honoured for their work on energy and climate change.
There were knighthoods for NHS medical director Prof Stephen Powis and AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot, reflecting their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.
Angela Redgrave, 104, the oldest recipient on the list, and twins Elena and Ruben Evans-Guillen, 11, the youngest, received British Empire Medals.
A government spokeswoman told a briefing on Tuesday that each of the selection committees was asked, in particular, to consider the themes of the jubilee, “looking at youth engagement, environment and sustainability and sustained public service”.
“So, those were considered alongside all of the things usually looked at — service to others, sustained commitment. But we have sought, particularly, to consider and promote cases which exemplify those themes, which are the themes across the entirety of the jubilee.”
