Who Was Knighted In The New Years Honours List?

Every New Year’s Day, the UK honours a plethora of British citizens (and citizens from the 15 Commonwealth Realms) for their achievements in public life, and their commitment to serving and helping the UK. It’s known as the New Years Honours List, and the awards are presented in the name of King Charles III this year – with a whopping 1,200 recipients to note in 2025. Here’s what you need to know.

What Is The New Years Honours List?

The New Years Honours List is an annual UK tradition by which a collection of outstanding individuals are awarded honours as part of the British honours system. These awards are conferred by the monarch on the advice of the government, and include the following:

• Orders of Chivalry, making someone a Knight or Dame
• Orders of the British Empire, including Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
• Medals and Decorations – for example, the British Empire Medal (BEM)
• Companionships – like the Companion of Honour (CH), for example

Who Is Honoured?

Honourees span all walks of life and segments of society, including sport, healthcare, academia and voluntary service. The headlines tend to focus on celebrities receiving – or rejecting – honours, but ordinary people can be awarded, too, especially for voluntary work.

‘This year’s New Year Honours List celebrates the unsung heroes who contribute selflessly to their communities across the UK,’ the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Rt Hon. Pat McFadden MP said in a statement. ‘I send them all my congratulations for their achievements.

‘Our honours system uniquely recognises the generous contributions of individuals across our nation,’ McFadden added. ‘If you know someone in your community who has done something extraordinary, nominate them for an honour so the nation can recognise their achievements.’

Visit gov.uk/honours to learn more about how you can nominate someone you know.

Who Rejected The Honour?

While thousands of people are offered these honours each year, a handful of people reject the offer – approximately two percent. This is mainly due to the awards’ association with the word ‘Empire’, with the likes of Benjamin Zephaniah and Alan Cumming rejecting OBEs because of this in recent years. In fact, changing the colonial titles has been discussed, with ‘Order of British Excellence’ a proposed alternative.

Rejections are not made public unless the honouree in question chooses to reveal their decision. Roald Dahl, David Bowie and Nigella Lawson have also famously rejected their honours, though no reason was given in each case. Meanwhile, some celebrities have publicly returned their awards, including late Beatle John Lennon who gave up his MBE in protest of British involvement in the Nigerian Civil War, while Welsh star Michael Sheen returned his in protest of the ongoing custom of bestowing the ‘Prince of Wales’ title to the heir apparent to the English throne, not a Welsh person.

Honourees can also be stripped of their awards, including former Post Office head Paula Vennells in 2024 after her mismanagement of the Horizon IT scandal came to light, and artist Rolf Harris after he was jailed in 2015.

Highlights From The New Years Honours List 2025

‘Each and every day, ordinary people go out and do extraordinary things for their communities,’ prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said in a statement on the 2025 list. ‘They represent the very best of the UK and that core value of service which I put at the centre of everything this government does. The New Year Honours List celebrates more of these unsung heroes, and I thank them for their incredible contribution.’

In 2025, more than 1,200 people received honours. Highlights include:

Sir Gareth Southgate

Making the headlines this year is former England men’s football manager Gareth Southgate, who was awarded a Knighthood thanks to his services to Association Football. Beyond the pitch, Southgate is also noted for his charitable work with the Prince’s Trust, a youth charity helping young people access education, training and employment.

Sir Kazuo Ishiguro

The Companion of Honour is a prestigious and unique award in the British honours system bestowed on individuals who have made an extraordinary contribution to the arts, sciences, medicine, or government over an extended period. Established by King George V in 1917, the Companion of Honour was created to be the highest accolade – and as such is only awarded to a maximum of 65 people at a time. The latest addition is author, screenwriter and 2017 Nobel laureate Sir Kazuo Ishiguro, who joins the likes of Sir David Attenborough, David Hockney, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Paul McCartney, J.K. Rowling, Margaret Atwood, Sir Elton John, Sir Paul Smith, Sir Quentin Blake, Sir Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan and Dame Anna Wintour to bring the current total to 63. Another addition for 2024 is former UK prime minister Gordon Brown. Recent deaths – including Dame Maggie Smith – have left two slots open.

Mikayla Beams

Aged just 18, Mikayla Beams is one of the two youngest recipients of honours this year, along with Paralympian William Ellard who receives an MBE after winning three medals at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. Mikayla, however, is awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for her charitable fundraising for children with cancer in Oxfordshire. Diagnosed with brain cancer herself aged four years old, her namesake charity, Team Mikayla, has raised more than £300,000 since 2014, distributed thousands of gifts at Christmas and Easter, and supported hundreds of children who are fighting cancer.

Stephen Fry

He may be best known as an actor – or, more recently, as the beloved narrator of a plethora of audiobooks – but Stephen Fry’s Knighthood has been bestowed thanks to his tireless work on mental health awareness. An honorary fellow of Royal College of Psychiatrists and President of charity Mind since 2011, Fry has been instrumental in changing conversations and attitudes around mental health for the better in the UK.

Helen Glover

One of the most decorated female rowers in the history of British rowing, Helen Glover can add an OBE to her collection of awards in 2025. A two-time Olympic, three-time world and five-time European champion, Glover retired from rowing after the 2016 Olympic Games to start a family. But, after giving birth to three children, she returned in 2021, winning a gold medal at the European Championships before clinching a silver medal in the coxless four at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Dame Jaqueline Wilson

Hot on the heels of her 2024 novel Think Again, Dame Jacqueline Wilson has been awarded the Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire for services to literature.

DISCOVER

You can find the full 2025 New Years Honours List at gov.uk