Order of the Companions of Honour

The order was originally intended to be conferred upon a limited number of persons for whom this special distinction seemed to be the most appropriate form of recognition, constituting an honour dissociated from either the acceptance of title or the classification of merit. It is now described as being "awarded for having a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine, or government lasting over a long period of time". The first recipients of the order were all decorated for "services in connection with the war" and were listed in The London Gazette. Modern appointments are also now announced in The Gazette.

• Title — Order of the Companions of Honour • Awarded By — Charles III • Type — Order • Established — 4 June 1917 • Motto — In Action Faithful and in Honour Clear • Eligibility — All living citizens of the Commonwealth realms • Criteria — Nationally important service • Status — Currently constituted • Founder — George V • Head Title — Sovereign • Head — Charles III • Grades — Member (CH) • Date — 1917 • Image2 — Order of the Companions of Honour Ribbon.gif • Image Size2 — 100px • Caption2 — Ribbon bar of the order The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. It was founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire. The order was originally intended to be conferred upon a limited number of persons for whom this special distinction seemed to be the most appropriate form of recognition, constituting an honour dissociated from either the acceptance of title or the classification of merit. It is now described as being "awarded for having a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine, or government lasting over a long period of time". The first recipients of the order were all decorated for "services in connection with the war" and were listed in The London Gazette. Modern appointments are also now announced in The Gazette.

The insignia of the order is an oval medallion, surmounted by a royal crown (but, until recently, surmounted by an imperial crown), and with a rectangular panel within, depicting on it an oak tree, a shield with the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom hanging from one branch, and, on the left, a mounted knight in armour. The insignia's blue border bears in gold letters the motto "in action faithful and in honour clear", Alexander Pope's description (in iambic pentameter) in his Epistle to Mr Addison of James Craggs the Younger, later used on Craggs's monument in Westminster Abbey. Men wear the badge on a neck ribbon (red with golden border threads) and women on a bow at the left shoulder.

• Name — Year of appointment — Present age • King Charles III (ex officio) — Sovereign since 2022

• Name — Year of appointment — Present age — Notes • Catherine, Princess of Wales GCVO — 2024 — First Royal Companion

• Member numberThe number shown in brackets is the individual's place in the wider sequence of appointment since the Order's inception. — Name — Known for — Year of appointment — Present age • 1-(270) — Kenneth Baker, Baron Baker of Dorking — Secretary of State for the Home Department — 1992 • 2-(278) — Tom King, Baron King of Bridgwater — Secretary of State for Defence • 3-(282) — Dame Janet Baker FRSA — Opera singer — 1993 • 4-(287) — David Owen, Baron Owen — Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs — 1994 • 5-(289) — Sir David Attenborough — Television broadcaster and conservationist — 1995 • 6-(291) — Douglas Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell — Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Secretary of State for the Home Department • 7-(296) — Michael Heseltine, Baron Heseltine — Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Secretary of State for Defence — 1997 • 8-(297) — Chris Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes — Governor of Hong Kong, Chairman of the BBC Trust, and Chancellor of the University of Oxford • 9-(299) — Sir John Major — Prime Minister of the United Kingdom — 1998 • 10-(300) — Bridget Riley — Artist • 11-(305) — General John de Chastelain — Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada) and Chairman of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning • 12-(317) — Dan McKenzie — Geophysicist — 2003 • 13-(318) — David Hannay, Baron Hannay of Chiswick GCMG — Permanent Representative to the United Nations • 14-(320) — Dame Judi Dench FRSA — Actress — 2005 • 15-(321) — Sir Ian McKellen — Actor — 2007 • 16-(323) — Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne — Leader of His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition and Secretary of State for the Home Department — 2011 • 17-(324) — George Young, Baron Young of Cookham — Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury and Leader of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom — 2012 • 18-(325) — Sebastian Coe, Baron Coe — President of World Athletics and Chairman of the British Olympic Association • 19-(327) — Thomas Galbraith, 2nd Baron Strathclyde — Leader of the House of Lords and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster — 2013 • 20-(329) — Sir Nicholas Serota — Curator and Director of the Tate • 21-(331) — Onora O'Neill, Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve — President of the British Academy — 83 • 22-(333) — Kenneth Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham — Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State for the Home Department — 2014 • 23-(336) — Lady Mary Peters DStJ — Olympic gold medallist and Lord Lieutenant of Belfast — 2015 • 24-(339) — Harry Woolf, Baron Woolf FMedSci — Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales • 25-(341) — Sir Roy Strong FRSL — Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum and National Portrait Gallery, London — 2016 • 26-(343) — Robert Smith, Baron Smith of Kelvin FRSGS — Governor of the British Broadcasting Corporation • 27-(344) — Valerie Amos, Baroness Amos — United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Leader of the House of Lords and Secretary of State for International Development • 28-(345) — George Osborne — Chancellor of the Exchequer and First Secretary of State • 29-(347) — Sir Richard Eyre — Director • 30-(348) — Dame Evelyn Glennie — Musician • 31-(349) — Sir Alec Jeffreys — Geneticist • 32-(353) — Sir Mark Elder — Conductor — 2017 • 33-(355) — Sir Paul McCartney — Musician • 34-(356) — J. K. Rowling — Author • 35-(358) — Delia Smith — Cook and author • 36-(359) — Nicholas Stern, Baron Stern of Brentford FAcSS — President of the British Academy and Chief Economist of the World Bank • 37-(361) — Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg FRSL — Broadcaster and Chancellor of the University of Leeds • 38-(362) — Lady Antonia Fraser FRSL — Author • 39-(363) — Margaret MacMillan — Historian, author and Provost of Trinity College, Toronto • 40-(364) — Richard Henderson FMedSci — Biologist — 2018 • 41-(365) — Dame Kiri Te Kanawa — Opera singer • 42-(366) — Margaret Atwood OOnt — Author • 43-(367) — Patrick McLoughlin, Baron McLoughlin — Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Secretary of State for Transport — 2019 • 44-(368) — Sir Elton John — Musician • 45-(369) — Sir Keith Thomas — Historian and President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford • 46-(370) — Sir Paul Smith — Fashion designer — 2020 • 47-(371) — Sir David Chipperfield — Architect • 48-(372) — Sir Paul Nurse — Geneticist and Nobel Laureate — 2021 • 49-(374) — Sir Quentin Blake — Illustrator — 2022 • 50-(375) — Sir Salman Rushdie FRSL — Author • 51-(376) — Dame Marina Warner FRSL — Author • 52-(377) — Sir Michael Marmot — Academic • 53-(379) — Sir Bill Cash — Shadow Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales — 2023 • 54-(380) — Sir John Bell — President of the Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research • 55-(381) — Ian McEwan — Author • 56-(382) — Dame Anna Wintour — Media executive • 57-(383) — Dame Shirley Bassey — Singer • 58-(385) — Gordon Brown HonFRSE — Prime Minister of the United Kingdom — 2024 • 59-(386) — Sir Kazuo Ishiguro — Novelist and screenwriter • 60-(387) — Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell — Physicist — 2025 • 61-(388) — Sir Antony Gormley — Sculptor • 62-(389) — Sir Donald McCullin — Photojournalist — 2026 • 63-(390) — Dame Helen Mirren — Actress • 64- — Vacant following the death of Menzies Campbell, Baron Campbell of Pittenweem, on 26 September 2025 • 65- — Vacant following the death of David Hockney, on 11 June 2026