Order of the British Empire
British order of chivalry established in 1917
Follow Order of the British Empire on Notably News to receive short updates to your email — rarely!
| 2025 | Jacqueline Wilson was awarded Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire. |
| 2025 | Women such as Emily Thornberry, Patricia Hewitt, and Carmen Munroe were honored as Dames Commander, highlighting ongoing recognition of women's contributions to British society. |
| January 7 2025 | Archbishop of Canterbury position becomes vacant |
| 2024 | Katherine Hamnet, a fashion designer, tossed her CBE insignia into a trash bin in front of cameras, expressing disgust at Britain's role in the Gaza genocide. |
| 2024 | Mark Gatiss, actor, writer, director, and producer, declined an OBE. |
| 2024 | Alan Bates, former subpostmaster and campaigner, initially declined an honour but later accepted a knighthood. |
| 2024 | Felicity Dahl was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). |
| 2024 | Margaret Beckett was awarded Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire. |
| 2024 | Jenny Abramsky was awarded Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire. |
| 2024 | Queen Camilla became the Grand Master of the Order of the British Empire. |
| 2024 | Carol Black was awarded Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire. |
| 2024 | Distinguished women including Imelda Staunton, Tracey Crouch, Jilly Cooper, and Sonia Boyce were awarded Dame Commander status, continuing the tradition of recognizing women's achievements. |
| January 9 2024 | Paula Vennells, former CEO of Post Office Limited, announced she would return her CBE in light of the Post Office scandal, which was subsequently officially revoked by King Charles III. |
| 2023 | Alan Cumming, an actor, returned his OBE insignia, citing the 'toxicity of empire'. |
| 2023 | Hermione Lee was awarded Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire, honoring her distinguished achievements. |
| 2023 | Prominent women like Priti Patel, Virginia McKenna, Shirley Conran, and Tracey Emin were among those named Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire. |
| 2022 | Gareth Bale accepted appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire, causing controversy among some Welsh football supporters who criticized his decision. |
| 2022 | Sue Ion was awarded Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire, recognizing her significant contributions. |
| 2022 | Notable dames appointed included Joanna Lumley, Vanessa Redgrave, Laura Kenny, and Fionnuala Jay-O'Boyle, representing diverse fields such as entertainment, sports, and public service. |
| 2021 | A petition was launched to the Senedd proposing the 'Cymru Knighthood Award', seeking to establish a national Welsh honours system. The Welsh Government stated they had no plans to introduce such a system. |
| 2021 | Nikesh Shukla declined an offer of MBE for services to literature. |
| 2021 | Another significant group of women, including Sarah Gilbert (notable for her COVID-19 vaccine work), Prue Leith, and Arlene Phillips, were honored with Dame Commander status. |
| 2020 | Michael Sheen returned his OBE after researching the relationship between Wales and the British state, stating he would be a hypocrite to keep it. |
| 2020 | Beti George declined an honour, stating it was a symbol of oppression, slavery, and suffering. |
| 2020 | The Guardian reported, based on a Freedom of Information request, that 68 out of 2,504 people offered a British honour declined the recognition, representing 2.7% of total offers. |
| 2020 | Large group of women, including notable figures like Mary Berry, Olivia Newton-John, and Rose Tremain, were appointed as Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire. |
| November 2020 | Tony Woodley ultimately accepted a peerage in November. |
| August 2020 | Tony Woodley turned down a second peerage offer in August. |
| 2019 | Saiful Islam, chemistry professor, declined an OBE. |
| 2019 | John Oliver, comic and TV host, declined an OBE, questioning the purpose of such an honour. |
| 2019 | The Lady Higgins was awarded the Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire. |
| 2019 | Notable Dames Commander included Cressida Dick, Carolyn Fairbairn, Jayne-Anne Gadhia, Sara Thornton, and Rachel Whiteread. |
| 2018 | Tony Woodley initially turned down a peerage offer. |
| 2018 | Recipients included Mary Beard, Darcey Bussell, Emma Thompson, Cheryl Gillan, and Stella Manzie. |
| 2017 | J.K. Rowling declined promotion as Dame Commander (DBE) and elevation to the peerage, but accepted appointment as Companion of Honour (CH). |
| 2017 | Damehoods were awarded to Jessica Ennis-Hill, Julie Walters, Katherine Grainger, Sarah Connolly, and Anna Wintour. |
| 2016 | Narindar Saroop, a soldier and Tory politician, returned his CBE in disgust at David Cameron's 'Dishonours List' of rewarding friends and party backers. |
| 2016 | Lynn Faulds Wood, TV presenter, declined an honour because it contained the word 'empire'. |
| 2016 | Howard Gayle, first black footballer to play for Liverpool FC, declined an MBE, saying it would be 'a betrayal' of Africans who suffered under the British Empire. |
| 2016 | Jez Butterworth, playwright, declined an OBE. |
| 2016 | Phil Scraton, professor of criminology, declined an OBE due to lack of justice for bereaved families and survivors. |
| 2016 | Notable recipients included Louise Casey, Carolyn McCall, Julia Peyton-Jones, Siân Phillips, Barbara Windsor, and Caroline Spelman. |
| 2015 | Gordon Brown declined a peerage on principle, being an advocate for an elected upper house. |
| 2015 | Dames Commander included Frances Ashcroft, Joan Collins, Carol Ann Duffy, Mary Quant, Esther Rantzen, and Marina Warner. |
| 2014 | Notable recipients included Angela Lansbury, Hilary Mantel, Gillian Lynne, Penelope Keith, and Zandra Rhodes. |
| 2013 | The St David Awards were launched as a complementary honours system, recognizing Welsh people for inspiring and exceptional work alongside the existing British honours system. |
| 2013 | Danny Boyle declined a knighthood, and Peter Higgs accepted an appointment to the Order of the Companions of Honour. |
| 2013 | Significant damehoods were awarded to Margaret Beckett, Hermione Lee, Sarah Storey, and other accomplished women across various fields. |
| 2012 | David Jones (Jonzi D), writer, choreographer, and rap artist, declined an MBE for services to the arts, stating he was 'diametrically opposed to the idea of empire'. |
| 2012 | The Baroness Hayman was awarded the Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire. |
|
We are only showing the most recent entries for this topic. |
|
This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles List of people who have declined a British honour, List of dames grand cross of the Order of the British Empire, List of dames commander of the Order of the British Empire & Order of precedence in England and Wales, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.