Demystifying the Queen’s honours system.

It is no surprise that the royal tradition of honouring high achievers goes back to the Norman Conquests. However, what is surprising is that the first ‘commoners’ to be honoured en mass started as late as 1917, when the father of Queen Elizabeth II , King George V, began a new order of chivalry called the Order Of the British Empire. He did this to celebrate the outstanding contributions made by British citizen and soldiers to the war effort in WII and the system has remained in place to this day.

Today, the Queen’s honours are awarded twice per year: New year’s awards and the Queen’s official birthday. At these times, several types of awards are given, including:

• The Order of the Garter
• The order of the Thistle
• Order of St. Patrick
• Order of the British Empire
• Knight Grand Cross
• Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire  (CBE)
• Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire  (MBE)
• Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE)
• Order of Merit
• Companions of Honour
• Order of the Bath
• Order of St. Michael and St. George
• Royal Victorian Order
• Royal Family Orders
• Commonwealth Orders
• Military Honours and Awards – several including The George Cross and the Elizabeth cross.

These awards are not given lightly and are carefully considered before being bestowed. This was especially highlighted in 2012, when Fred Goodwin was stripped of his Knighthood, which he received in 2008 for the services to banking under the Labour Government ( the awards were retracted due to the dishonour of his actions which lead to RBS almost collapsing in 2008). It is a uniquely British honour which must ultimately be respected.

However, it is no longer only accessible by the ‘Old Boys’ Network’: there are a lot of amazing people out there doing incredible things so around 6000 nominations are made each year. On average, approximately 3000 honours are awarded to people every year. Although it was once said that ‘people award you but God rewards you’, there is certainly nothing like being acknowledged for all the hard work and the positive contribution you have made to your country. In addition, there is no denying that such awards tend to open doors and often make people more receptive to what you have to share.

Dr Yvonne Thompson CBE, founder of WINTRADE was one of those people awarded 20 years ago for her contributions to Britain through her work in the areas of cultural diversity, small businesses and women in business. She has also had the privilege of sitting on the honours’ committee for several years, helping to inform the Palace about nominees deserving of being acknowledged. As a result, she has a wealth of experience on the subject and would like to share what she has learned with you.

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