THE Archbishop of Canterbury has been appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) in the New Year Honours list. This is one of a number of awards for people who played a part in the Coronation in May.
The Dean of Westminster, the Very Revd Dr David Hoyle, is appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO). Both the Archbishop’s and Dr Hoyle’s citations read: “on the occasion of the coronation of their majesties the King and the Queen”.
On Saturday, Archbishop Welby posted on social media: “I am delighted to receive this award from His Majesty. It was a great honour and privilege to conduct the Coronation.
“This award reflects the efforts of the amazing team behind the service, and I am deeply grateful for their many hours of hard work.”
The Royal Victorian Order was established by Queen Victoria. Appointments to it are in the personal gift of the monarch. Most of the current GCVOs are members of the Royal Family, diplomats, or senior courtiers.
Lord Chartres, formerly Bishop of London, was appointed KCVO in 2009 and then GCVO on his retirement as Dean of the Chapels Royal in 2019. The Rt Revd David Conner was appointed KCVO in 2010, and GCVO before his retirement last summer as Dean of Windsor, a post that he had held since 1998 (News, 20 June).
Members of the clergy who receive a knighthood do not receive the accolade or bear the title “Sir”. Post-nominal letters are used instead.
Other Archbishops appointed GCVO were Randall Davidson (1904), Cosmo Lang (1937), and Geoffrey Fisher (1953).
Archbishop Frederick Temple received the Royal Victorian Chain after crowning King Edward VII, who created this honour. Fisher (1949), Davidson (1911), and Donald Coggan (1980) were also recipients.
Others honoured for their part in the Coronation include Sir Antonio Pappano, conductor of the Coronation Orchestra, who becomes CVO; the Chapter Clerk and Receiver-General of Westminster Abbey, Paul Baumann CBE, who becomes LVO; the Clerk of the Works at the Abbey, Ian Bartlett, who become MVO, as does Danny Johnson, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Coronation Planning Director.
Lambeth PalaceDanny Johnson (left), who was appointed Archbishop’s Coronation Planning Director in October 2022, walks alongside the Archbishop of Canterbury and other bishops on the way to the Coronation in West minster Abbey, on 6 May
In other Honours announced last Friday, the singer Shirley Bassey, famous for performing songs in three James Bond films, becomes a Companion of Honour, and the film director Sir Ridley Scott has his knighthood upgraded to become a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire.
A former Foreign Secretary and long-serving Labour MP for Derby South, Margaret Beckett DBE, is appointed Dame Grand Cross for services to parliamentary, political, and public service.
The former Director of Public Prosecutions, Max Hill KC, is appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath — a customary honour for those who fill the post, such as the current leader of the Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer.
The composer Judith Weir, Master of the King’s Music, is appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) (services to music). Her orchestral composition Brighter Visions Shine Afar, commissioned for the Coronation, was among the pieces performed in the Abbey before the service began. The artist Professor Sonia Boyce OBE (Arts, 10 March 2023) and the novelist Jilly Cooper CBE are also appointed DBE, as is Dianne Jeffrey, the founding chair of Age International (services to older people abroad and to the community in Derbyshire).
The artist Brian Clarke is appointed a Knight Bachelor (Arts, 15 September 2023), as is the novelist Alexander McCall Smith CBE.
The Revd Nicky Gumbel, formerly Vicar of Holy Trinity, Brompton, and founder of the Alpha course, is appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) (services to the Church of England). In recent months, Mr Gumbel has become prominent in a group calling itself “the Alliance”, which has sought to delay the implementation of blessings for same-sex couples, and to create financial provision for churches that oppose their introduction (News, 15 December 2023).
The chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), Professor Alexis Jay, is appointed CBE. Professor Jay is expected to deliver a report this month on the Church of England’s safeguarding structures (News, 21 July 2023).
Professory Alexis Jay
Also appointed CBE is Lady Sainsbury, who, with her husband, Sir Timothy, co-founded the Jerusalem Trust in 1982 (services to philanthropy and charity).
The Area Dean of Ripon, the Revd Tony Collins, is appointed OBE “for services to healthcare and to the community in Harrogate and Ripon”. Mr Collins has been chief executive of various hospices in North Yorkshire, and is currently chief executive of North Yorkshire Hospice Care.
The former chair of trustees of the Children’s Society, Janet Legrand KC, is appointed OBE (services to young people), as is the author and artist Charlie Mackesy, whose book The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse was turned into an animated short film and released last Christmas.
The Mayor of Bristol City Council, Marvin Rees, is appointed OBE for services to local government. Mr Rees served on the Archbishops’ Commission on Housing, Church and Community, which reported in 2021 (News, 21 February 2021).
Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, who is the senior rabbi for Masorti Judaism in the UK, (Interview 31 May 2013 and 3 November 2017) is appointed OBE for services to the Jewish community and to interfaith relations.
In October, Rabbi Wittenberg joined Archbishop Welby and the former Assistant Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain, Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, in an appeal for unity between faith communities following the resurgence of conflict in the Middle East (News, 20 October 2023).
The Rector of St Bartholomew’s, Belfast, Canon Kevin Graham, is appointed MBE for “services to the reserve forces and to the community in Belfast”. Canon Graham, who is also Rural Dean of South Belfast, was also recently appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Belfast.
A Methodist minister and and Lead Chaplain at Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, the Revd Derek Johnston, is also appointed MBE, for services to chaplaincy and well-being during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Also among the MBEs are the organist and director of music of Pembroke College, Cambridge, Anna Lapwood (Interview, 23/30 December 2022) and Dr Gian Gopal, founder of Oxford Hindu Temple and Community Centre, who is being honoured for services to the Hindu community and to multi-faith cohesion in Oxfordshire.
The Revd Chris Colledge is appointed MBE for services to the community in Bournemouth, in honour of his charitable and community work in the area, including organising Bournemouth in Bloom.
In 2017, Fr Colledge spoke about his early retirement on medical grounds, after a breakdown and overdose. He told the Bournemouth Daily Echo that his attempt to take his own life had been because “the Church authorities did not want to know me.”
“I am an openly gay person and the pain, rejection and attitude of the Church is still something which is distressing and hard to live with. Sadly I know only too well that the Church’s attitude to people who are gay is one of discrimination and unkindness and as if they are lepers and outcasts,” he said.
Also among the MBEs are the chair of St George’s Garrison Church Trust — which helps to maintain the ruins of a Victorian church in Woolwich, which was bombed during the Second World War, Timothy Barnes (services to the community); a former chair of the Churches Together in Penzance Food Bank, Christine Glendall (services to the community in Penzance); a Past Master and Hon. Librarian of the Ancient Society of College Youths, Dickon Love (services to bell-ringing in London and Kent); the Rector of Our Lady and St Nicholas’s, Liverpool, Canon Crispin Pailing (work for the Merseyside Resilience Forum and Safety Advisory Group); the former deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Winchester, Canon Elizabeth Stuart, who is an NSM of St Matthew’s, Winchester, and has been an honorary canon of the cathedral since 2023.
The Revd Nicky Gumbel with his wife, Pippa
Recipients of the British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to the community include Canon William Adair, Rector of St Columba’s, Portadown; the Revd Margaretha Armitstead, Vicar of St Mary the Virgin, Littlemore; the Revd Christine Aspinall, an OLM in Manchester; the Revd Christine Blackman, an NSM in the Reading Benefice; and Robert Taylor, who runs the Shipbourne Farmers’ Market, which takes place each week in St Giles’s, Shipbourne, in Kent. The Revd Maureen Wilson is awarded for services to Health and Wellbeing for her work in the Highland Health and Social Care Chaplaincy Team.
The Revd Albert Cadmore, a retired teacher and NSM in Great Yarmouth also receives an BEM. The Great Yarmouth Mercury reports that Mr Cadmore has been involved with the town’s RNLI station for decades, serving as chaplain and chairman, and is a presenter on a local radio station.
Other recipients of the BEM include the former Rural Dean of Stockport, Canon Diane Cookson, who in 2022 retired as Vicar of St Saviour’s, Stockport, after 26 years; the Revd Chris Howson, a chaplain of the University of Sunderland, for services to higher education; Clive Jackson, Reader Emeritus of St Lawrence’s, York, who has been a Reader for more than 60 years; a learning-support assistant at Dame Tipping C of E Primary School in Romford, Frances Johnson (services to education); the pastor of the River Sallee Pentecostal Church in Grenada, the Revd Dave King (religious affairs and social work).
“She received the Victoria Sponge Award for serving tea at the Coronation celebration”
Also: Russell Walters, director of Cardiff Cymru and Careline Co-ordinator of Care for the Family (voluntary service in Wales); the retiring Archdeacon of Dromore, in the Church in Ireland diocese of Down & Dromore, the Ven. Roderic West; and the Revd Roy Watson. The South Wales Argus reports that Mr Watson has held posts in schools over many decades, and has served as chaplain at a hospice as well as for a branch of the Royal British Legion.
Church musicians to receive the BEM include the organists Dr Christopher Kent and Martin White and the bell-ringers Andrew Beevers and David Town. Another recipient is the musical director of the Chichester Singers, Jonathan Willcocks. The choir regularly performs in Chichester Cathedral.
On Saturday, the resignation Honours of the former Prime Minister Liz Truss were announced, more than a year after her 49-day premiership ended. Her 11 nominations consisted mostly of political allies.