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.[1][2]
| Order of the Companions of Honour | |
|---|---|
 Badge and ribbon of the order | |
| 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 |
| Sovereign | Charles III |
| Grades | Member (CH) |
 Ribbon bar of the order | |
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.[1] 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".[3] The first recipients of the order were all decorated for "services in connection with the war" and were listed in The London Gazette.[4]
Composition
The order consists of the monarch of the Commonwealth realms, who is the Sovereign of the Order of the Companions of Honour, and a maximum of 65 members. Additionally, foreigners or Commonwealth citizens from outside the Commonwealth realms may be added as honorary members. Members are organised into a single class and are appointed by the monarch of the Commonwealth realms in their capacity as sovereign of the order. While membership of the order confers no title or precedence, those inducted into the order are entitled to use the post-nominal letters CH.
Appointments to the order are generally made on the advice of prime ministers of the Commonwealth realms.[2] For Canadians, the advice to the Sovereign can come from a variety of officials.[5] Originally, the order was limited to 50 ordinary members, but in 1943 it was enlarged to 65, with a quota of 45 members for the United Kingdom, seven for Australia, two each for New Zealand and South Africa, and nine for India, Burma, and the other British colonies. The quota numbers were altered in 1970 to 47 for the United Kingdom, seven for Australia, two for New Zealand, and nine for other Commonwealth realms. The quota was adjusted again in 1975 by adding two places to the New Zealand quota and reducing the nine for the other countries to seven.[6]
Whilst still able to nominate candidates to the order, the Cabinet of Australia has effectively stopped the allocation of this award to that country's citizens in preference to other Australian honours. The last Australian member, Doug Anthony, former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, died on 20 December 2020.[7] Companions from other Commonwealth realms continue to be appointed, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, a New Zealand soprano, was given the award in 2018 and Canadian author Margaret Atwood was given the award in 2019.
The Lord Coe CH represented the Order at the 2023 Coronation.[8]
Insignia
The insignia of the order is in the form of 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 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, 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.
Current members
- Sovereign: King Charles III
Royal companions
| Member number | Name | Post-nominals | Occupation | Date of appointment | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (384) |  The Princess of Wales | GCVO, CH | Royal family | 23 April 2024 | 42 |
Members
| Member number[n 1] | Name | Post-nominals | Current or former occupation | Date of appointment | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (267) |  The Lord Tebbit | CH, PC | Politician | 31 July 1987 | 93 |
| 2 (270) | The Lord Baker of Dorking | CH, PC | Politician | 13 April 1992 | 89 |
| 3 (278) | The Lord King of Bridgwater | CH, PC | Politician | 13 April 1992 | 90 |
| 4 (282) | Dame Janet Baker | CH, DBE | Opera singer | 31 December 1993 | 90 |
| 5 (287) | The Lord Owen | CH, PC | Politician | 11 June 1994 | 85 |
| 6 (289) | Sir David Attenborough | OM, GCMG, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FSA, FRSA, FLS, FZS, FRSGS, FRSB | Broadcaster; naturalist | 30 December 1995 | 97 |
| 7 (291) | The Lord Hurd of Westwell | CH, CBE, PC | Politician | 30 December 1995 | 94 |
| 8 (294) | David Hockney | OM, CH | Artist | 14 June 1997 | 86 |
| 9 (296) | The Lord Heseltine | CH, PC | Politician | 2 August 1997 | 91 |
| 10 (297) | The Lord Patten of Barnes | KG, CH, PC | Politician; former Governor of Hong Kong | 31 December 1997 | 79 |
| 11 (299) | Sir John Major | KG, CH, PC | Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | 31 December 1998 | 81 |
| 12 (300) | Bridget Riley | CH, CBE | Artist | 31 December 1998 | 93 |
| 13 (305) |  John de Chastelain | CC, CMM, CH, CD | Canadian Army officer; diplomat | 31 December 1998 | 86 |
| 14 (317) | Dan McKenzie | CH, FRS | Geophysicist | 14 June 2003 | 82 |
| 15 (318) | The Lord Hannay of Chiswick | GCMG, CH | Diplomat | 14 June 2003 | 78 |
| 16 (320) | Dame Judi Dench | CH, DBE | Actress | 11 June 2005 | 89 |
| 17 (321) | Sir Ian McKellen | CH, CBE | Actor | 31 December 2007 | 84 |
| 18 (323) | The Lord Howard of Lympne | CH, PC, KC | Politician | 11 June 2011 | 82 |
| 19 (324) | The Lord Young of Cookham | CH, PC | Politician | 20 September 2012 | 82 |
| 20 (325) | The Lord Coe | CH, KBE, Hon FRIBA | Politician; athlete; organiser of 2012 Olympics | 29 December 2012 | 67 |
| 21 (327) | The Lord Strathclyde | CH, PC | Politician | 7 January 2013 | 64 |
| 22 (328) | The Lord Campbell of Pittenweem | CH, CBE, PC, KC | Politician | 15 June 2013 | 82 |
| 23 (329) | Sir Nicholas Serota | CH | Curator | 15 June 2013 | 77 |
| 24 (331) | The Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve | CH, CBE, FBA, FRS, FMedSci | Philosopher | 31 December 2013 | 82 |
| 25 (332) | Dame Maggie Smith | CH, DBE | Actress | 14 June 2014 | 89 |
| 26 (333) | The Lord Clarke of Nottingham | CH, PC, KC | Politician | 22 July 2014 | 83 |
| 27 (336) | Lady Mary Peters | LG, CH, DBE, DStJ | Athlete | 1 January 2015 | 84 |
| 28 (339) | The Lord Woolf | CH, PC, FBA, FMedSci | Judge | 12 June 2015 | 90 |
| 29 (341) | Sir Roy Strong | CH, FRSL | Art historian; museum director | 1 January 2016 | 88 |
| 30 (343) | The Lord Smith of Kelvin | KT, CH | Businessman | 11 June 2016 | 79 |
| 31 (344) | The Baroness Amos | LG, CH, PC | Politician; diplomat | 11 June 2016 | 70 |
| 32 (345) | George Osborne | CH, PC | Politician; former Chancellor of the Exchequer | 4 August 2016 | 52 |
| 33 (347) | Sir Richard Eyre | CH, CBE | Director | 31 December 2016 | 81 |
| 33 (348) | Dame Evelyn Glennie | CH, DBE | Musician | 31 December 2016 | 58 |
| 35 (349) | Sir Alec Jeffreys | CH, FRS | Geneticist | 31 December 2016 | 74 |
| 36 (353) | Sir Mark Elder | CH, CBE | Conductor | 17 June 2017 | 76 |
| 37 (355) | Sir Paul McCartney | CH, MBE | Musician | 17 June 2017 | 81 |
| 38 (356) | J. K. Rowling | CH, OBE | Author | 17 June 2017 | 58 |
| 39 (357) | Dame Stephanie Shirley | CH, DBE, FREng | Entrepreneur; philanthropist | 17 June 2017 | 90 |
| 40 (358) | Delia Smith | CH, CBE | Cook; author | 17 June 2017 | 82 |
| 41 (359) | The Lord Stern of Brentford | CH, FRS, FBA | Economist | 17 June 2017 | 78 |
| 42 (361) | The Lord Bragg | CH, FRS, FBA, FRSL | Broadcaster | 30 December 2017 | 84 |
| 43 (362) | Lady Antonia Fraser | CH, DBE, FRSL | Author | 30 December 2017 | 91 |
| 44 (363) | Margaret MacMillan | OM, CC, CH | Historian | 30 December 2017 | 80 |
| 45 (364) | Richard Henderson | CH, FRS, FMedSci | Biologist | 9 June 2018 | 78 |
| 46 (365) |  Dame Kiri Te Kanawa | ONZ, CH, DBE, AC | Opera singer | 9 June 2018 | 80 |
| 47 (366) | Margaret Atwood | CC, OOnt, CH, FRSC, FRSL | Author | 29 December 2018 | 84 |
| 48 (367) | The Lord McLoughlin | CH, PC | Politician | 10 September 2019 | 66 |
| 49 (368) | Sir Elton John | CH, CBE | Musician | 28 December 2019 | 77 |
| 50 (369) | Sir Keith Thomas | CH, FBA, FLSW, FRHistS | Historian | 28 December 2019 | 91 |
| 51 (370) | Sir Paul Smith | CH, CBE, RDI | Fashion designer | 10 October 2020 | 77 |
| 52 (371) | Sir David Chipperfield | CH, CBE, RA, RDI, RIBA | Architect | 31 December 2020 | 70 |
| 53 (372) | Sir Paul Nurse | OM, CH, FRS, FMedSci, HonFREng, HonFBA, MAE | Geneticist | 31 December 2021 | 75 |
| 54 (374) | Sir Quentin Blake | CH, CBE, FCSD, FRSL, RDI | Illustrator | 1 June 2022 | 91 |
| 55 (375) |  Sir Salman Rushdie | CH, FRSL | Writer | 1 June 2022 | 76 |
| 56 (376) | Dame Marina Warner | CH, DBE, FRSL, FBA | Writer | 1 June 2022 | 77 |
| 57 (377) | Sir Michael Marmot | CH, FRCP, FFPM, FMedSci, FBA | Academic | 31 December 2022 | 79 |
| 58 (379) | Sir Bill Cash | CH | Politician | 9 June 2023 | 83 |
| 59 (380) | Sir John Bell | GBE, CH, FMedSci, FREng | Physician | 16 June 2023 | 71 |
| 60 (381) | Ian McEwan | CH, CBE, FRSA, FRSL | Writer | 16 June 2023 | 75 |
| 61 (382) | Dame Anna Wintour | CH, DBE | Media executive | 16 June 2023 | 74 |
| 62 (383) | Dame Shirley Bassey | CH, DBE | Singer | 29 December 2023 | 87 |
| 63 (-) | Vacant following the death of The Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, on 13 May 2023 | ||||
| 64 (-) | Vacant following the death of Peter Higgs, on 8 April 2024 | ||||
| 65 (-) | Vacant following the death of The Lord Field of Birkenhead, on 23 April 2024 | ||||
Honorary members
| Member number | Name | Post-nominals | Occupation | Date of appointment | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (261) | Amartya Sen | CH, FBA | Economist | 11 May 2000 | 90 |