Six members of the Lionesses’ victorious Euro 2025 squad have been made MBEs in King Charles’s birthday honours list, while the actor Dame Helen Mirren has been made a Companion of Honour for services to drama.
They are joined by the former rugby league player Kevin Sinfield, who has been knighted for his campaigning and fundraising to tackle motor neurone disease.
Two-time Euro champions Chloe Kelly, the scorer of the decisive penalty in the 2025 final against Spain, and Hannah Hampton, who saved two in that shootout, are among the England women’s players to be honoured.
Also receiving awards are their fellow double-winners Alessia Russo and Jess Carter, as are 2025 champions Lauren James and Michelle Agyemang. At 20, Agyemang is the youngest person on this year’s list. The footballers followed several other England players and staff who were honoured in the new year list.
Mirren, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of Elizabeth II in the 2006 film The Queen, becomes a Companion of Honour. The maximum number of people who can hold the title at any one time is 65. The elevation came days after footage circulated on social media showing her being verbally abused while walking in central London with her husband.
The honours committees responsible for the list stressed the prominence of people who have “contributed significantly to their communities” in the most recent list.
Among those honoured for their charitable work was James Brown, whose organisation, Lifesavers Scotland, urgently transports much-needed blood and blood products for the NHS. He was moved to set up the charity as a way to thank the NHS staff who had saved him when he had sepsis. “I thought initially it would be fun to help but it turned into a real passion,” he said on Friday.
Speaking about receiving his MBE, he said he had had to bring his mother from Scotland to London on false pretences in order to keep the secret. “I came up with an elaborate lie about how we were going down for her birthday,” he said.
Brown dedicated his award to his family, who have worked alongside him, and all of the blood bikers working across the UK. “I don’t feel I deserve this,” he told reporters.
Alice Outten, whose organisation, Prom Ally, provides dresses and suits to those unable to afford something nice for their end-of-school parties, was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM).
She started the charity in 2015, when she was aged 20, from her house in Llandudno, north Wales, after seeing a story about a young girl who could not afford a dress. Outten still had her own prom dress hanging on the back of her door, as did many of her friends, and she bought up more garments from local charity shops with her birthday money to offer out free to those in need. She now provides several thousand free of charge.
Outten said she had not been able to bring anyone to London to see her receive her BEM because she had come straight from a music festival – and was going back afterwards. “So I finally can tell all my friends at the campsite why I was in London. I think we’re just going to have a big celebration tonight, and I’m sure they will be really proud and really happy.”
Speaking about her charity work, she said: “A lot of people think a prom dress or suit is not that important when people are struggling to afford food. But it is about feeling included.”
There were 1,182 honours handed out on the latest list; including 305 BEMs, 501 MBEs and 240 OBEs. The Cabinet Office said 49% of recipients at CBE level and above were women, nearly 12% came from an minority ethnic background and more than 15% declared either a disability or longterm health condition. It also said more than a third identified as having come from a lower socioeconomic background.
The oldest recipient was Pauline Hough, 101, who received a BEM for services to theatre and to the community in Nantwich.
Also among those honoured were the Welsh broadcaster and musician Cerys Matthews, who was made an OBE for her services to music, and the dance music DJ Judge Jules, who was made an MBE. He said the honour felt like “a reward for my industry”. The TV presenter Anneka Rice was made an MBE for her services to charity and broadcasting.
The Gruffalo author, Julia Donaldson, and Malorie Blackman, who wrote Noughts and Crosses, both received damehoods for their services to literature. Donaldson was the UK’s bestselling author last year. She overtook the Harry Potter creator, JK Rowling, thanks to The Gruffalo’s continued popularity and the success of more recent characters, such as Zog the dragon.
Black Sabbath’s guitarist Tony Iommi became an MBE for his services to music and charity, and the Emmerdale actor Lisa Riley received the same honour for her services to drama and her charity work. David Sproxton and Peter Lord, the co-founders of the Academy Award-winning animation studio behind beloved series such as Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, were both knighted for their services to the creative industries and to charity. Sproxton and Lord founded Aardman together more than 50 years ago.
“We both feel it is an extraordinary privilege and an honour – as well as a complete and utter surprise – to be recognised in this way,” the duo said in a statement.
The prime minister, Keir Starmer, said: “Across the UK, people are quietly changing lives and strengthening their communities. This honours list is a chance to recognise them.
“Their dedication shows how lasting change is built: through compassion, resilience and a commitment to others. It speaks to the decent, hopeful country we are proud to be, and on behalf of the whole nation, I want to say thank you.”
