Fancy Getting Married In St. Paul’s?

Being awarded an Honour carries many benefits. It’s not only recognition for outstanding service to the community or being a leader in your field, it is also a great encouragement to do even more good and achieve even more for others.

But there are other less well-known privileges of having an honour.

For example, did you know holders of the MBE or above are entitled to get married in St Paul’s Cathedral – and their children can too?

There is a special chapel in the famous cathedral reserved for use for those who have been awarded MBEs, OBEs, CBEs, Knighthoods or Damehoods.

The Queen and Prince Philip attended the dedication of the Chapel of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (commonly known as the OBE Chapel) at the east end of the crypt of St Paul’s in 1960.

Also known as St Faith’s Chapel, it is (or was, pre-Covid) one of the busiest spaces in the historic cathedral, designed by Sir Christopher Wren and used for countless state occasions.

In addition to having the right to get married in the chapel, honours holders can also be baptised there – as can their children and grandchildren.

So just another reason not to waste a moment in nominating that person you believe so deserves an honour!

Any worthy person, based anywhere in the world who meets the criteria, can be nominated for a UK Honour such as an OBE or knighthood/damehood. You don’t have to be a British citizen or even live in the UK. So it really is open to any outstanding person across the globe.

The million-dollar question is, have these people gone above and beyond the call of duty, because people don’t get honours for simply doing their job, or at least they shouldn’t.

But you have to be in it to win it and people can’t nominate themselves, so if you know someone who you feel is worthy then put them forward.

The benefits of an honour are immense. It will raise your profile, further enhance your reputation and instil trust of course – that vital ingredient for success in all walks of life. Very few other awards carry the same gravitas and are globally recognised and respected.

The Government made a very important announcement regarding the honours system a while back. I would go so far as to say it’s the most important announcement in a decade or more if you are interested in making an honours nomination.

They said that from now on they particularly want to highlight and reward people who fit their ‘Big 5’ priorities and they are people who:

• Boost the economy through entrepreneurial or business achievement
• Support young people in achieving their potential
• Aid social mobility
• Help local communities and
• Tackle discrimination