King Charles III’s first list of U.K. awards includes a guitarist

• The list for this year comprises more than 1,100 persons.
• Mary Quant, a 92-year-old fashion designer was awarded the highest accolade.
• Women received half of the awards this year.

Among the more than 1,100 persons on the New Year’s list were artists, community leaders, and those at the forefront of the U.K.’s reaction to Russia’s assault in Ukraine.

A fashion designer known as “the mother of the miniskirt” and Queen guitarist Brian May were among those honoured on Friday as part of the nation’s list of New Year’s Honors.

The list for this year, the first to be approved by King Charles III, comprised more than 1,100 persons, including artists, community leaders, and players from England’s award-winning women’s soccer team.

May, who also works to promote animal welfare, was given the honorary title of Knight Bachelor for his contributions to both music and charity. In addition to having a degree in astrophysics, the former Queen guitarist said he saw his new title as “a kind of commission to do the things one would expect a knight to do – to fight for justice, to fight for people who don’t have any voice.”

Mary Quant, a 92-year-old fashion designer best known for making the miniskirt popular in the 1960s, was awarded the highest accolade in the United Kingdom for her contributions to fashion. Seven years after being named a dame—the female equivalent of a knight—in appreciation of her creations, Quant was appointed to the Order of the Companions of Honor, a privileged position held by no more than 65 people at any given time.

Grayson Perry, a ceramicist and tapestry artist, was also knighted for his contributions to the arts.

The ambassadors to Kyiv and Moscow received damehoods, while a campaigner who organised contribution campaigns for Ukrainian refugees received a British Empire Medal (BEM). In other places, diplomats who helped shape the U.K.’s response to the conflict in Ukraine were honoured.

Nanny Louenna Hood, 37, who raised more than 160,000 pounds through online auctions, admitted that being recognised left her “totally surprised.”

Although I initiated the campaign, I couldn’t have done it without the support of the community, she claimed.

Women received half of the awards this year, including the first female leader of a significant U.K. bank and members of the England soccer team that won the 2022 Women’s European Championship.

While teammates Lucy Bronze, Beth Mead, and Ellen White all won MBEs, England captain Leah Williamson received an OBE.

A damehood was also given to Alison Rose, the chief executive of the banking organisation NatWest and the first woman to lead one of the biggest banks in the United Kingdom.

Since the Middle Ages, British monarchs have bestowed honours as a component of chivalric orders. Nowadays, nominations are made to the Cabinet Office of the government, where they are reviewed by a committee before being sent to the prime minister and the king for confirmation.

This year, people working to prevent discrimination, engage youth, and promote environmental and climate change action were also recognised. Ephraim Mirvis, the head rabbi of Britain, was among the Jewish community leaders honoured with a knighthood.

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