Every June, the King’s Birthday Honours List gives the UK a chance to pause and celebrate the people quietly making a difference, alongside some familiar faces from the worlds of sport, entertainment and the arts.
The King’s Birthday Honours 2026 List recognises close to 1,200 people, from community fundraisers and foster carers to Lionesses footballers and household names from British film and literature.
In this article, we’ll walk through some of the standout names from the 2026 list across each level of the British Honours System, from British Empire Medals right up to the Order of the Companions of Honour.
We’ll also look at what this year’s list tells us about the qualities the honours system continues to celebrate, and how Awards Intelligence can help if you’d like to put forward a nomination of your own.
British Empire Medals (BEM): Community Champions
Pauline Hough
At 101 years old, Pauline Hough from Nantwich is the oldest recipient on the King’s Birthday Honours 2026 list.
She’s been honoured with a BEM for her services to theatre and to the community, a fitting recognition of a lifetime spent giving back locally.
Alice Outten
Alice Outten received a BEM for founding Prom Ally, a charity providing free prom dresses and suits to young people who can’t afford them.
She started the project from her home in North Wales back in 2015, after reading about a teenager who couldn’t afford a prom dress, using her own old dress to get things started. The charity has since helped countless young people enjoy their prom without financial pressure.
Derek Reid
Derek Reid, founder of the mental health charity LD Let’s Talk, has been awarded a BEM for his work driving a suicide awareness campaign that has helped save lives.
His efforts reflect exactly the kind of grassroots, life-changing community work the BEM aims to celebrate.
MBEs: Celebrating Talent and Teamwork on a National Scale
The Lionesses
Six members of England’s UEFA Women’s Euro 2025-winning squad have been awarded MBEs for services to Association Football: Hannah Hampton, Chloe Kelly, Michelle Agyemang, Lauren James, Alessia Russo and Jess Carter.
The squad retained their European title with a dramatic penalty shootout win over Spain in Basel, and their MBEs recognise not just that victory but the wider impact the team continues to have on the profile of women’s football in this country.
At just 20, Michelle Agyemang is the youngest recipient on the entire 2026 list — a reminder that royal recognition isn’t only for those with decades of service behind them.
James Brown
James Brown, founder of Lifesavers Scotland, has received an MBE for his work helping to transport urgent blood supplies and blood products for the NHS.
Brown set up the charity after surviving sepsis, determined to give something back to the healthcare workers who saved his life.
Lee Carsley
England men’s under-21s head coach Lee Carsley has also been awarded an MBE for services to football, after leading the Young Lions to back-to-back UEFA European Under-21 Championship titles.
Tony Iommi
Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has been made an MBE, calling it an unbelievable honour after a career spent doing something he loves and watching his music connect with audiences across the decades.
Lisa Riley
Actress Lisa Riley was also made an MBE, describing it as the best birthday present she could have asked for and saying she felt humbled by the recognition.
OBEs: Sustained Excellence Across the Arts
Patrick Doyle
Composer Patrick Doyle has been honoured with an OBE for his services to film, recognising a career spent scoring some of British cinema’s most memorable productions.
Dexter Fletcher
Actor and director Dexter Fletcher also receives an OBE for services to film and television, in recognition of a long and varied career both in front of and behind the camera.
CBEs: Nationally Significant Contributions
Andrew Mitchell
Andrew Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer of Tideway, has been awarded a CBE for his services to the construction industry, in recognition of his role in delivering one of the UK’s largest infrastructure projects.
Knighthoods and Damehoods: National and International Icons
Sir Kevin Sinfield
Rugby league legend Kevin Sinfield has been knighted for his services to rugby league, rugby union and the motor neurone disease community.
Since his former Leeds Rhinos teammate Rob Burrow was diagnosed with MND, Sinfield has raised over £10 million for MND charities through a series of extraordinary fundraising challenges, turning personal loyalty into a national cause.
Sir David Sproxton and Sir Peter Lord
Aardman co-founders David Sproxton and Peter Lord, the creative minds behind Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, have both been knighted.
Describing the honour as a complete surprise, the pair said they felt it was an extraordinary privilege to be recognised in this way, paying tribute to everyone who has been part of Aardman’s journey. Their work has shaped British animation for decades and remains loved by audiences of all ages, both at home and around the world.
Dame Julia Donaldson and Dame Malorie Blackman
Two of the UK’s best-loved authors, Julia Donaldson (creator of The Gruffalo) and Malorie Blackman (author of the Noughts and Crosses series), have both received damehoods for their services to literature, honouring decades spent shaping the reading habits of generations of children and young people.
Companions of Honour: A Rarity for National Icons
The Order of the Companions of Honour is limited to just 65 living members at any time, reserved for those who have made an exceptional and sustained contribution to the nation.
Dame Helen Mirren
Acclaimed actor Dame Helen Mirren has been appointed a Companion of Honour for her services to drama; a career spanning stage and screen that has made her one of the most respected performers of her generation, both in the UK and internationally.
Sir Donald McCullin
Photojournalist Sir Donald McCullin has also been appointed to the Order for his services to photojournalism, recognising a body of work that has documented some of the most significant events of the last sixty years, often from conflict zones and humanitarian crises overseas, and helped shape global understanding of them.
What Stands Out Each Year
Looking across this year’s list, a few themes stand out clearly.
Measurable, lasting impact
Many of this year’s honourees are recognised not just for what they’ve achieved personally, but for the tangible difference their work has made to others, whether that’s the millions raised for MND research, the young people given a confidence boost through a free prom outfit, or the lives supported through a suicide awareness campaign.
What’s striking is the range of scale involved: some honours recognise impact felt in a single community, others reflect contributions that have shaped the country as a whole, and others still, like Sir Donald McCullin’s decades of photojournalism or Dame Helen Mirren’s international acting career, recognise work that has resonated well beyond the UK’s borders.
The honours system continues to reward outcomes, not just titles, whatever scale they’re achieved at.
Community heroes alongside household names
The 2026 list places a 101-year-old community stalwart from Nantwich on the same page as a Hollywood actor and a Euro-winning footballer.
That mix is part of what makes the Birthday Honours so distinctive: it’s as much about the person running a local charity as it is about the household names making headlines.
Representation and inclusion
This year’s King’s Birthday Honours List also reflects a greater proportion of recipients from ethnic minority backgrounds and recipients with disabilities than in previous years, a sign that the honours system is increasingly reaching into communities and stories that might once have gone unrecognised.
What This Year’s List Tells Us
Taken together, the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours List is a reminder that the British Honours System isn’t just about celebrity or career milestones.
It’s about recognising people, at every level, from BEM to Companion of Honour, whose work has made a genuine difference to the people around them, their communities, the country, or, in some cases, the wider world.
If you know someone whose contribution deserves this kind of recognition, Awards Intelligence can help you put together the strongest possible nomination ahead of the next King’s Birthday Honours List, whatever level of honour you think they deserve.
Achieving New Heights With Awards Intelligence
Your nomination is a top priority for our team; our dedicated experts go to great lengths to ensure your submission is as compelling as possible. On average, we spend around 100 to 150 working hours researching and drafting your nomination, so you know it’ll have the best possible chance of securing a royal honour.
While we cannot guarantee that your nomination will be successful, we have an industry-leading 2 in 3 success rate (around 65%).
Whether you’re inspired by the King’s Birthday Honours 2026 list or simply want to recognise someone close to you, our team is ready to help.
Get in touch with a member of our team today for a complimentary assessment of your nominee’s chances of success, and discover how we can help maximise the impact of your submission.