Birthday Honours

The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are presented by the monarch or a viceregal representative. The Birthday Honours are one of two annual honours lists, along with the New Year Honours. All royal honours are published in the relevant gazette.

History

Honours have been awarded with few exceptions on the sovereign's birthday since at least 1860, during the reign of Queen Victoria. There was no Birthday Honours list issued in 1876, which brought "a good deal of disappointment" and even rebuke for the Ministry of Defence. A lengthy article in the Broad Arrow newspaper forgave the Queen and criticised Gathorne Hardy for neglecting to award worthy soldiers with the Order of the Bath: "With the War Minister all general patronage of this description rests, and if Mr. Hardy has not seen fit to mark the occasion in the usual way, he alone can be blamed or praised for having neglected to follow in the beaten track of his predecessors." At the same time, it was noted that the Queen appeared to have issued her own honours by appointing the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Connaught to be her personal aides-de-camp and the ailing King George of Hanover to be a general in the British Army.^[1] The first birthday as king of her successor, Edward VII (r. 1901–1910), fell on 9 November 1901.^[2]^[3]

From 1959, the monarch's official birthday in the United Kingdom was moved to a Saturday in early June. Other Commonwealth realms celebrate the official birthday of the monarch on different dates (generally late May or early June); honours are awarded accordingly. The Birthday Honours were not issued on occasions when they coincided with Jubilee Honours in 1887 and 1897 and Coronation Honours in 1911, 1937, and 1953.

The British 2020 Honours were postponed until the autumn because of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[4]

References

^ "The Birthday Gazette". Broad Arrow. 10 June 1876. p. 3. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
^ "No. 27374". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 November 1901. p. 7287.
^ "No. 27376". The London Gazette. 12 November 1901. p. 7291.
^ "Queen's Birthday Honours List delayed until autumn amid coronavirus". Metro. UK. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.

External links

Honours lists – List and links of birthday honours lists as published in the London Gazette (since 1940)
Honours lists – List and links of birthday honours lists as published in the London Gazette (1885–1939)

[1] "The Birthday Gazette". Broad Arrow. 10 June 1876. p. 3. Retrieved 23 November 2018.

[2] "No. 27374". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 November 1901. p. 7287.

[3] "No. 27376". The London Gazette. 12 November 1901. p. 7291.

[4] "Queen's Birthday Honours List delayed until autumn amid coronavirus". Metro. UK. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.

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v t e British honours lists
New Year Honours	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902† 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940† 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 † Not issued because of Birthday Honours of the new monarch (1902) and World War II (1940)
Birthday Honours	1860 1861 1862 1863§ 1864§ 1865§ 1866 1867 1868§ 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876§ 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887† 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897† 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911† 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937† 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953† 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 § Not issued † Not issued because of Jubilee Honours (1887, 1897) and Coronation Honours (1911, 1937, 1953)
Coronation Honours	1821 1831 1838 1902 1911 1937 1953 2023† † Not issued
Jubilee Honours	1887 (Golden) 1897 (Diamond) 1935 (Silver) 1977 (Silver) 2002 (Golden) 2012 (Diamond) 2022 (Platinum)† † Not issued
Demise Honours	2002 (Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret) 2021 (The Duke of Edinburgh) 2023 (Queen Elizabeth II)
Dissolution Honours	1874 1885 1892 1895 1900† 1906† 1910† 1918† 1922 1923† 1924 1929 1931 1935† 1945 1950 1951† 1955† 1959 1964 1966 1970 1974 (February) 1974 (October) 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015 2017† 2019 2024 † Not issued
Prime Minister's Resignation Honours	1895 1905 1916 1923 1924 1945 1951 1955† 1957† 1963 1964 1970 1976 1979† 1990 1997 2007† 2010† 2016 2019 2022 (Johnson) 2022 (Truss) 2024† † Not issued
Special Honours	1923 1952 1972 1973 1974 1981 1982 1983 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1999 2001 2004 2006 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Additional Honours	1911 (Delhi Durbar) 1953 (Korea) 1969 (Investiture of The Prince of Wales) 1990 (Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's 90th Birthday)
Honours by nation	Australia Canada Ceylon India New Zealand

v t e Australian honours lists
New Years Honours	1902† 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940† 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 † Not issued because of Birthday Honours of new king (1902) and WWII (1940)
Australia Day Honours	1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Birthday Honours	1901† 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911† 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937† 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953† 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 † No Australians listed in this honours list (1901) and because of Coronation Honours (1911, 1937, 1953)
Bravery Honours	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90
Special Honours lists	2003 2007–2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Royal Visit Honours	2000 2011 2024
Coronation Honours	1902 1911 1937 1953 2023† † Not issued
Related pages	Order of Australia List of Knights and Dames of the Order of Australia List of Companions of the Order of Australia Australian honours order of wearing
Governor General of Australia, Honours Lists

History

See also

References

External links