King Charles III on Tuesday announced awards for actors Stephen Fry and Carey Mulligan as well as victims of the Britain’s Post Office scandal at the country’s traditional New Year honours.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan joins British television icon and author Fry, 67, and former England football manager Gareth Southgate among those to be knighted in the latest list.
Fry, best known for playing his idol Oscar Wilde in the 1997 film Uncultured and hit British television comedies blackadder Was recognized for services to mental health awareness, the environment and charity.
Fry, who suffers from a form of bipolar disorder, has spoken openly about his struggle with manic depression.
He told the PA news agency that he felt “shocked and charmed” after receiving the letter informing him of his knighthood.
“When you’re recognized, it makes you feel a little awkward, but I think the most emotional thing is when I think about my childhood, and my terrible unhappiness and sadness and stupidity, and all that stuff. That led to so many failures as a kid,” Fry said.
Khan, one of Britain’s most high-profile politicians of Asian descent, was honored for political and public service.
The 54-year-old has led the UK capital since 2016 and earlier this year became the first London mayor to win a third term.
Also honored were four victims of the Horizon IT scandal, in which hundreds of subpoenas were convicted of fraud, theft and false accounting due to faulty software.
Lee Castleton, Joe Hamilton, Christopher Head and Seema Mishra were awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for their work campaigning for justice.
The previous Conservative government unveiled legislation in March to exonerate and compensate those wrongly prosecuted after a TV drama focused renewed attention on their plight.
More than 1,200 people received honors in the latest list, which was decided by an honors committee.
The king or other prominent member of the royal family distributes the awards at ceremonies during the year.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “Every day, ordinary people go out and do extraordinary things for their communities.”
“The New Year Honors list celebrates these unsung heroes and I thank them for their incredible contribution,” he said.
Mulligan received the award as Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), while Nobel Prize-winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro was made a Companion of Honor for services to literature.
Southgate was knighted for services to football after leading England to the last two European Championship finals as well as the 2018 World Cup semi-finals.
His eight-year reign ended without a major trophy after England’s 2–1 defeat to Spain in July’s European final.
A number of British athletes who competed in the Paris Olympics this summer were also honoured, including 800m gold medalist Keeley Hodgkinson and two-time Olympic mountain bike champion Tom Pidcock.
The king also personally honored two of his medical staff after he was diagnosed with cancer in February. Her general practitioner, Douglas Glass, who was present at the death of Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral in September 2022, and her consultant physician, Richard Leach, were both awarded levels of the Royal Victorian Order.
