Martin Amis receives ‘posthumous’ knighthood
The late writer Martin Amis has received a knighthood in a wide-ranging King’s Birthday Honours list which recognises figures from fashion doyenne Anna Wintour and the head of MI6 to a 93-year-old lollipop lady from Northern Ireland.
Sir Martin, who died from oesophageal cancer last month at the age of 73, is understood to have been informed by Whitehall officials by phone at his Florida home that he was to receive the honour as the seriousness of his illness became clear in the weeks prior to his death.
The knighthood is dated to the day before the author’s passing on 19 May to observe the convention that an honour cannot be conferred fully posthumously, although Sir Martin, described as a “literary agitator” in life, was told of the award several weeks before his death. Although rare, it is not the first time an award has been given in this manner because of the lengthy period of verification and confidentiality required by the honours process.
It means that the writer, who won a number of literary prizes and is regarded as one of the most important figures of post-war English fiction, matched his father, Sir Kingsley Amis, by becoming a knight of the realm, despite both men’s fondness for pricking the pomposity of the Establishment. Friends of Sir Martin indicated that he had been grateful to receive the honour.
The London Fields author is far from the sole figure from the world of literature and the arts to receive an honour in the Birthday Honours, the first of the reign of Charles III, who formally grants the awards but has no role in selecting recipients put forward on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
Nigerian-British poet and novelist Ben Okri receives a knighthood alongside film director Stephen Frears, whose movies include The Queen, for which Dame Helen Mirren won an Oscar. Sir Ben, author of The Famished Road, said he was “delighted” to receive the honour and would use it to highlight the perils of climate change, adding: “If we don’t do something radical about it now, within 10 years nothing will be the same.”
The highest awards on the 1,171-strong list go to Vogue editor-in-chief Dame Anna Wintour and Booker Prize-winning novelist Sir Ian McEwan, who join the ranks of Companions of Honour, which is restricted to 65 individuals at any one time. Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at Oxford University and an architect of the UK’s Covid-19 testing system and vaccine programme, also becomes a Companion of Honour. Sir Ian said he was surprised and delighted by the award, adding: “I guess it amounts to a really good review.”
Former England and Arsenal footballer-turned-pundit Ian Wright is made an OBE, while television Davina McCall, who has campaigned to highlight the effects on women of the menopause, is made an MBE. The Line of Duty actor Vicky McClure, who has helped raise awareness of dementia, and veteran broadcaster Ken Bruce are also made MBEs.
Officials underlined that the awards aimed to recognise valuable contributions across society and public life, continuing the theme of the King’s coronation to celebrate those who help their communities and society at large.
In so doing, the honours range from a knighthood for Richard Moore, the head of the Secret Intelligence Service or MI6, to a British Empire Medal for Veronica Hammersley, who has been helping children to cross the road at Glengormley Integrated Primary School, to the north of Belfast, for the past 32 years. Mrs Hammersley, 93, said she had no plans for retirement despite the award of a British Empire Medal (BEM).
The oldest recipient, 106-year-old Joan Willett, receives a BEM for charitable fundraising, while the youngest, Junior Jay Frood, 18, receives the same honour after he used his experience of being bullied at primary school over his ambition to be become a dancer to help other boys wanting to take up performing arts.
Some 52 per cent of recipients will receive honours for “outstanding work” in their communities and exactly half of those receiving awards are women. Those from a minority ethnic background make up 11 per cent of recipients, down from 15 per cent in 2021.
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said: “This year’s honours list is a testament to ordinary people who have demonstrated extraordinary community spirit, and I pay tribute to all those who have been recognised today.
“Our honours system has long been a way of recognising people who make an incredible contribution to life in Britain and beyond.”
