In most cases, the offer of an honour was rejected privately. Nowadays, potential recipients are contacted before any public announcement to confirm in writing that they wish to be put forward for an honour, thereby avoiding friction or controversy. However, some have let it be known that the offer was declined, and there have also been occasional leaks from official sources. A handful of people have accepted and later renounced an honour; these are listed at the end of the article.
In 2003, Sunday Times published a list of almost 300 people who had declined an honour between 1951 and 1999.[1] In 2020, the Guardian reported based on a Freedom of Information request, that the number of people refusing an honour in 2020 was 68 out of 2,504 offered, or 2.7%.[2] The number of people rejecting a British honour has doubled in the last decade.[3]
Reasons for rejection
Honours are rejected for a variety of reasons. Some potential recipients have rejected one honour then accepted another (such as Sir Alfred Hitchcock[4]), or have initially refused an honour then accepted it,[who?] or have accepted one honour then declined another (such as actor Robert Morley[5]) or refused in the hope of another higher distinction (Roald Dahl refused being decorated as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire,[4] allegedly because he wanted a knighthood so that his wife would be entitled to be known as "Lady Dahl").[6]
Some may refuse an honour based on political reasons, relating to the British state or the Royal Family. Nationalists of the constituent countries may prefer awards from their respective nations, such as Welsh nationalists refusing British awards for Welsh awards such as from the Gorsedd or St David Awards.[8][9][10][11][12] In 2022, when Gareth Bale accepted appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire, some Welsh football supporters opposed and criticised his decision, describing him as "no longer a Welsh legend" because of his acceptance.[13] A columnist at The National, a Welsh-based newspaper, stated: "There is a duty to refuse honours from the current British state as a way of rejecting the colonial connotations of the gongs themselves."[14]
Honours declined
Kingdom
In 1657, Oliver Cromwell, already Head of State and Head of Government as Lord Protector, was offered the crown by Parliament as part of a revised constitutional settlement; he had been "instrumental" in abolishing the monarchy after the English Civil War. Cromwell agonised for six weeks over the offer. In a speech on 13 April 1657, he gave his opinion that the office of monarch, once abolished, should stay so: "I would not seek to set up that which Providence hath destroyed and laid in the dust, and I would not build Jericho again."[15]
Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister, was twice offered a dukedom, once as Duke of Dover by George VI and another as Duke of London by Queen Elizabeth II, but declined both in order to remain in the House of Commons, and to allow his son Randolph a political career. Randolph died only three years after his father, so the dukedom would have had little time to affect his career as he had already been out of the Commons for ten years.
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, Prime Minister (1886,[17] and 1892 and possibly in 1901[18]) – citing the prohibitive cost of the lifestyle that dukes were expected to maintain. According to Scribner's Magazine in 1900, "It is true that the Marquis of Salisbury might have been a Duke if he had not regarded his marquisate as a prouder title than a new dukedom could furnish."[19]
Prince Louis of Battenberg (1917) during the First World War, when he was forced to renounce his German title. Offered a dukedom by George V, but declined as he could not afford the lavish lifestyle expected of a duke; accepted the Marquessate of Milford Haven instead.[20]
Maria Fitzherbert, mistress and wife (in a marriage never considered valid in England) of George IV; his brother William IV, hearing her story after George's death, asked her to accept a dukedom but she refused, asking only permission to wear widow's weeds, and to dress her servants in royal livery.[21]
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (declined the Earldom of Belmont in 1905 when it was offered to him in a plot to elevate him to the House of Lords and make him an ineffective Prime Minister in the Relugas Compact).[22]
R. H. Tawney (twice declined an earldom, in 1920s and 1940s. Replied to Ramsay MacDonald's offer by asking what harm he had ever done the Labour Party, and to the offer from Clement Attlee he averred that he was surprised that Labour was still interested in such baubles).[25]
Leonard Elmhirst, philanthropist; declined Clement Attlee's offer in 1946, replying: "My own work, however, as you know, has lain in the main among country people ... in India, the USA and in Devonshire ... acceptance would neither be easy for me to explain nor easy for my friends to comprehend."[26]
T. P. O'Connor, journalist and Irish Nationalist MP 1880–1929, declined the offer from Lloyd George.
Frank Pick, Chief Executive of London Transport in the 1930s.
Joseph Strutt, soldier and MP, declined all honours, but suggested the offer (of the barony of Rayleigh) be transferred to his wife instead, which was done.
Life peerages are customarily offered to all former British Prime Ministers when they step down as a Member of Parliament (MPs). The last former Prime Minister to accept a peerage was David Cameron in 2023, in order to take up the post of Foreign Secretary; he did not accept a peerage upon leaving the House of Commons in 2016. The last former Prime Minister to accept a peerage upon leaving the Commons was Margaret Thatcher in 1992, and her husband, Denis, was created a baronet. Three of her successors – John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown – declined a peerage, whilst two others (Theresa May and Liz Truss) continue to serve as MPs. Boris Johnson, who had resigned from the Commons after a Parliamentary Committee report found he had misled Parliament over the Partygate affair, was not offered a peerage.
Sir Edward Heath, in 2001. Remaining in the House of Commons for over 25 years after his premiership, Heath personally disapproved of political honours while realising their usefulness as a source of political patronage.
Rodney Bickerstaffe, trade union leader and socialist; General Secretary of UNISON. Declined Blair's offer in 2000, reportedly saying that to accept would betray his socialist beliefs.[33][34]
Albert Booth, Labour MP and Cabinet Minister 1974-79
John Cleese, film and television actor, comedian (in 1999; stated that he "did not wish to spend winters in England" and being a peer would be "ridiculous", had previously declined appointment as CBE in 1996).[4][35]
Jack Jones, trade union leader, on several occasions, as he advocated the abolition of the House of Lords.[44]
Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor, Roman Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Westminster (in 2009; reportedly on advice from the Holy See due to concerns that it would compromise the Church's impartiality and a prohibition in canon law on priests holding political office).[45][46]
Raymond Monbiot, businessman and Conservative Party official. Deputy Chairman, President of Party Convention.[47]
Stan Newens, Labour MP for Harlow; declined a proposed peerage from Michael Foot in 1983.
Joseph Robinson, a South African mining magnate, declined a peerage in 1922 after controversy arose regarding his nomination, which was given in exchange for political contributions.
Tony Woodley, former General Secretary of Unite, initially turned down two offers of a peerage in 2018 and August 2020, before accepting in November 2020.[49][50]
As a part of the House of Lords reform in 1999, members of the Royal Family who were peers of the first creation were offered life peerages as a pure formality, which would have given them the right to sit in the House of Lords, but nobody seriously expected them to accept, and all declined with the exception of the Earl of Snowdon.[51] These included:
John Lewis More O'Ferrall, lawyer from a family of Irish aristocracy, declined a baronetcy after serving as the first Commissioner of the Dublin Metropolitan Police.[55]
George Peabody, poet (1795 and 1864); Queen Victoria sent an adoring letter of thanks, enclosing a miniature portrait of herself and offering him a baronetcy or knighthood; Peabody declined both titles.[56]
In addition to these, many offers of baronetcies have technically been declined, since this is a hereditary honour and was one way, until recent times, for the Crown to raise money from landed gentry. When a baronetcy becomes vacant on the death of a holder, the heir may choose not to register the proofs of succession, effectively declining the honour. The baronetcy can be revived at any time on provision of acceptable proofs of succession, by, say, the son of a son who has declined to register the proofs of succession.[57] As of December 2017 some 208 baronetcies are listed as awaiting proofs of succession.[58]
Neville Chamberlain was offered the Order shortly before his death in 1940, but felt too ill to accept.[59]
Harold Macmillan declined the Order in March 1964, as he felt it should only be conferred for service during a national crisis, privately remarking that acceptance would have given him "the substance without the shadow."[59]
Knight of the Order of the Thistle
Ramsay MacDonald declined the Order in 1935 as he felt accepting would go against his principles as a member of the Labour Party.[59]
Alan Bennett, playwright (in 1996; had previously declined appointment as CBE in 1988).[4]
Arnold Bennett, novelist, declined knighthood offered for service in running the British government's French propaganda department during World War I.[64]
Henry Benyon, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire, declined knighthood in 1956.[60] Accepted a baronetcy in 1958.[65]
Ernest Bevin, trade unionist and Foreign Secretary, Labour government 1945 (in 1935)[36]
Francis Crick, physicist, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA; was also offered a CBE in 1963, but did not accept it. Later accepted appointment to the Order of Merit.[70]
Hugh Cudlipp, newspaper editor (1966).[71] He accepted a life peerage in 1974.
Bill Deedes, journalist and Conservative politician, declined Kt in 1973[36] He accepted a life peerage in 1986 and was appointed Knight Commander in 1999.
Paul Dirac, scientist, declined a knighthood in 1953, reportedly in part due to his dislike of being addressed by his first name, but probably had egalitarian objections to titles;[73] finally accepted an Order of Merit in 1973 as it was not a title.[74]
Bernie Ecclestone, businessman and Formula One boss. He stated in a 2019 interview that while he was glad if he had done some good, this was not his main intention when setting out in business, so he did not feel he deserved an honour.[75]
Huw T. Edwards, Welsh trade unionist and Welsh Labour politician. Uncomfortable with honours, Edwards refused a knighthood on at least two occasions in subsequent years. He had previously accepted an MBE, later renouncing it.[76]
Michael Faraday, scientist, who, for much of his life, eschewed worldly honors, turning down a knighthood and twice refusing to become president of the Royal Society.[77]
Harry Ferguson, businessman, engineer and inventor; twice offered and declined knighthood in the last ten years of his life; in response to a letter from Winston Churchill offering to submit his name, Ferguson declined on the ground that knighthoods should be reserved for servicemen and statesmen, whose financial rewards were relatively small, and should not be given to businessmen or industrialists with financial wealth.[78]
Albert Finney, actor (in 2000; had previously declined CBE in 1980).[4]
Michael Frayn, novelist and dramatist; declined a knighthood in the 2003 New Year Honours and a CBE four years previously; Frayn stated: "I haven't done this for reasons of modesty. I like the name 'Michael Frayn'; it's a nice little name to run around with. I've spent 70 years getting used to it and I don't want to change it now."[4]
John Freeman, politician, journalist, diplomat, business executive. Also declined a peerage.[38]
Patrick Heron, artist, declined a knighthood allegedly over the education policy of the government in the 1980s.[84]
Peter Higgs, CH, physicist, Professor of Theoretical Physics, University of Edinburgh; co-discoverer of the Higgs boson in 1999, because he felt honours are used for political purposes by the government. He later accepted appointment to the Order of the Companions of Honour, because he was (wrongly) assured that it was the personal gift of the Queen, in 2013.[85][86][87]
Keith Hill, Labour MP; declined knighthood in 2010 Dissolution Honours, stating: "My fundamental reason is that I have never had the least desire to have a title. I don't want to be discourteous, but I find the whole idea a little embarrassing and too much for me."[88]
David Hockney, CHRA, artist (in 1990; accepted appointment as CH in 1997, and OM in 2012 because they are not titles).[4]
Edward Lewis Hopkins (aka Ted Hopkins), refused in 1919.[89]
Augustus John, initially refused an Order of Merit in 1942 and later refused a knighthood.[39]
Rudyard Kipling, writer, and poet; declined knighthood in 1899 and again in 1903; his wife stated that Kipling felt he could "do his work better without it".[92] Kipling also declined the Order of Merit in 1921 and again in 1924.[93] Kipling expressed his own view on the importance of titles and poetry in his poem "The Last Rhyme of True Thomas".
Edgar Lobel, Romanian-British classicist and papyrologist; (in 1955).
L. S. Lowry, artist (in 1968; had previously declined appointment as OBE in 1955 and CBE in 1961; later twice declined appointment as CH (1972, 1976); holds the record for the most honours declined).[4]
Arthur Mann, editor of the Yorkshire Post, declined two knighthoods in the 1920s on the basis that accepting would interfere with his journalism; upon retirement he became a Companion of Honour.[98]
Kingsley Martin, journalist and successful editor of the 'New Statesman' reaching its highest circulation in the 1930s and 1940s. He declined the 'honour' in 1965 because he strongly disapproved of the honours system, certainly for journalists.
Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum (in 1999); in 2010 he accepted appointment to the Order of Merit, the personal gift of the British monarch.[60]
James Meade, economist, civil servant, and academic. Economic Adviser to the Treasury 1945–51; Professor of Economics at LSE; Nobel Prize in Economics 1977.
J. Arthur Rank, businessman and film producer (Rank Organisation) in 1949
Frank Russell, judge (1919); on the grounds that as the son of a peer he outranked a knight bachelor. Accepted a law life peerage as Baron Russell of Killowen in 1929.
A.J.P. Taylor, historian, probably due to anti-Establishment views, e.g. "The Establishment draws its recruits from outside as soon as they are ready to conform to its standards and become respectable. There is nothing more agreeable in life than to make peace with the Establishment – and nothing so corrupting."
Norman Willis, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress; "turned down a knighthood offered to him by John Major, just as he had turned aside a proposal from the Labour leader John Smith that he might consider going into the House of Lords".[109]
Bill Woodfull, Australian cricketer; turned down offer of a knighthood for services to cricket in 1934, but accepted OBE for services to education in 1963 which he saw as more important work than playing cricket.[110]
George Bernard Shaw, playwright, critic, and polemicist (in 1946; Shaw replied that "merit" in authorship could only be determined by the posthumous verdict of history).[103] Shaw had wanted to decline the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925, but accepted it at his wife's behest as honouring Ireland. He did not reject the monetary award, requesting it be used to finance translation of Swedish books into English.[116]
V. P. Menon (in 1948; official reason for declining was that with Indian independence, he had entered the service of the new Indian government.[118] According to his grandson, however, his actual reason for declining was that he could not accept a knighthood for having caused the partition of his country).[119]
Appointment to the Order of St Michael and St George
Narayan Malhar Joshi (1879–1955), Member of the Bombay Corporation (1919–1922) and Indian Legislative Assembly; delegate to the ILO and Round Table Conferences (refused in 1921, on the grounds he was too poor for the honour).[122][123]
Craig Murray, former United Kingdom Ambassador to Uzbekistan (had previously declined appointments as LVO and OBE),[124] in 1999, for reasons of Scottish nationalism and republicanism.
Francis Bacon, artist (in 1977; previously declined appointment as CBE in 1960).[4]
Leonard Cheshire, war hero and charity administrator, declined CH in 1975,[36] later accepted a life peerage in 1991.[125]
Robert Graves, poet and novelist (in 1984; had previously declined appointment as CBE in 1957).[4]
Edward Heath Conservative politician and Prime Minister 1970-74 (declined CH in 1975)[36]
L. S. LowryRA, artist (in 1972 and 1976; had previously declined appointment as OBE in 1955 and CBE in 1961 and a knighthood in 1968; holds the record for the most honours declined).[4]
Ben Nicholson, artist (in 1965). He accepted the Order of Merit in 1968.
J. B. Priestley, writer (in 1969)[48] also refused a knighthood and a peerage (accepted OM in 1977).
Virginia Woolf, writer. 'I don't take honours' (Diary 6 April 1933). She also declined honorary degrees and other awards ('all that humbug'), but accepted a few literary prizes.
Charles Wilson, 1st Baron Moran (in 1962) – offered for services as chairman of a government committee but declined, commenting it was "the sort of thing given to civil servants".[127]
Sir Harry Shackleton (in the 1951 Birthday Honours List).[128]
As a Knight Commander (KBE)
T. E. Lawrence, Arabist, archaeologist, soldier, aircraftsman, writer (in October 1918).
Doris Lessing, CH, author (declined DBE in 1992, stating it was in the name of a non-existent Empire; also declined appointment as OBE in 1977; accepted appointment as CH as it is does not carry a title, in 2000).[4][130] Nobel Prize for Literature.
Vanessa Redgrave, actress (accepted CBE in 1967; declined damehood in 1999,[4] but accepted it in 2022).
Geraldine McEwan, actress[5] (in 2002; had previously declined appointment as OBE in 1986).
Francis Crick, scientist, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA (in 1963;[60] later also refused a knighthood,[citation needed] but finally accepted appointment as OM in 1991).
T. E. Lawrence, World War I British Army officer, archaeologist, Arabist, RAF aircraftsman, and writer, popularly known as "Lawrence of Arabia"; later declined a knighthood.[when?]
James Lees-Milne, writer and expert on English country houses and long-time associate of the National Trust (in 1993).
C. S. Lewis, author, theologian, Oxford professor (in 1951, declined in order to avoid association with any political issues).[128][137]
Ken Livingstone, former Mayor of London, due to be honoured for his services to the 2012 Olympics (turned down an honour in the 2013 New Years Honours due to his belief that politicians should not get such awards).[138]
L. S. Lowry, artist (in 1961; had previously declined appointment as OBE in 1955; declined a knighthood in 1968, and later appointment as CH in 1972 and 1976; holds the record for the most honours declined).[4]
Philip MacDonald, author (in 1952); he thought the honours system added to the class-ridden nature of English society.
George Harrison, former Beatle (in 2000), reportedly he felt he deserved a knighthood, as his fellow ex-Beatle Paul McCartney had been awarded in 1997, however, he made no official comment on the matter before he died in 2001.[151]
"John Jones": May be: John Gwilym Jones, Welsh writer, dramatist, novelist, short-story writer, drama director, academic and critic (in 1972.)[155][133]
Nigella Lawson, chef, gourmand, television personality/presenter; cookery writer, in 2001.[5]
Doris Lessing, author (in 1977; later declined appointment as DBE in 1992, because it is in the name of a non-existent Empire; accepted appointment as CH in 2000).[130]
Ken Loach, film director (in 1977): "I turned down the OBE because it's not a club you want to join when you look at the villains who've got it."[156]
L. S. Lowry, artist (declined OBE in 1955, a CBE in 1961, a knighthood in 1968 and appointment as CH, twice, in 1972 and 1976; holds the record for the most honours declined).[4]
Michael MacDonnell, doctor, journalist and broadcaster, declined an OBE in 1997
Nitin Sawhney, musician (in 2007, for ethical reasons) "I wouldn't like anything with the word 'empire' after my name."[165] Later accepted a CBE.
Phil Scraton, professor of criminology (in 2016) "I could not receive an honour on the recommendation of those who remained unresponsive to the determined efforts of bereaved families and survivors to secure truth and justice." "I could not accept an honour tied in name to the 'British empire'".[166]
Jon Snow, newscaster (after having declined, investigated and presented a Channel 4 documentary, Secrets of the Honours System.[167])[when?]
"David Thomas": May be David Thomas Welsh educationalist, (in 1954).[133]
Katherine Whitehorn, journalist, later accepted a CBE after retirement from regular journalism.[168]
Kenneth Williams, actor and comedian. "When offered something which obviously isn't worth the price... we still have the right to say 'No thanks'" (1969). He also declined several awards, e.g. Radio Personality of the Year Award 1968, 'and it gives me considerable satisfaction to turn down one of these spurious 'awards'. (Diaries 1968)
Benjamin Zephaniah, poet (in 2003), stating: "I get angry when I hear the word 'empire'; it reminds me of slavery, it reminds me of thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised."[170]
As a Member (MBE)
John Allen, political adviser to Prime Minister Harold Wilson, declined honour in 1969.[citation needed]
Lynn Faulds Wood, TV presenter (in 2016); "I would love to have an honour if it didn't have the word 'empire' on the end of it. We don't have an empire, in my opinion."[173]
Howard Gayle, first black footballer to play for Liverpool FC. Declined the MBE in 2016 saying it would be "a betrayal" of Africans who suffered at the hands of the British Empire.
Beti George (in 2020), stating "I'm also a republican and the Empire to me is a symbol of oppression, slavery and suffering. I'm in good company – the likes of Hywel Gwynfryn and the late Carwyn James and there are probably many more.".[10]
Hywel Gwynfryn (in the 1980s), stating "When I got the offer I had just been made a Fellow of Bangor University and was given the green robe by the Gorsedd, so I felt recognized by my country" (Wales).[39]
David Heckels, declined MBE[when?] for charitable services to the arts.[5]
Bob Holman, community activist in Easterhouse, 2012 birthday honours.[174]
Carwyn James, Welsh international rugby player (in 1972).[133] He was pleased to be inducted into the Gorsedd.[39]
David Jones (Jonzi D), writer, choreographer and rap artist, declined MBE for services to the arts in 2012, saying subsequently: "I am diametrically opposed to the idea of empire. Man, I'm a Star Wars fan – empire is bad."[175]
Gwendoline Laxon, declined MBE for services to charity.[5][when?]
Nikesh Shukla, declined offer of MBE for services to literature in 2021.[178]
Joan Smith, journalist, declined MBE as it was counter to the views she had spoken about in her career, i.e. atheism, feminism and republicanism.[citation needed][when?]
As no official provision exists for (unilaterally) renouncing an honour, any such act is always unofficial, and the record of the appointment in The London Gazette stands. Nevertheless, the physical insignia can be returned to the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood; this is purely symbolic, as replacement insignia may be purchased for a nominal sum. Any recipient can also request that the honour not be used officially, e.g. Donald Tsang, ex-Chief Executive of Hong Kong, was knighted in 1997 but has not used the title since the handover to China.[179]
Those who have returned insignia include:
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, journalist (returned MBE insignia in 2003 in her view of "a growing spirit of republicanism and partly in protest at the Labour government, particularly its conduct of the war in Iraq").
Roy Bailey, folk singer (returned MBE insignia in August 2006 in protest at the British Government's foreign policy in Lebanon and Palestine).
Alan Cumming, actor, appointed OBE in 2009, returned the insignia in 2023 because of what he had come to see as "the toxicity of empire".[180]
Carla Lane, television writer (appointed OBE in 1989; returned insignia in 2002 in protest at the appointment of CBE of the managing director of Huntingdon Life Sciences due to the company's reputed animal testing).
John Lennon, musician (returned MBE insignia in 1969)
Gareth Peirce, solicitor[181] (gazetted CBE in 1999, but later she returned its insignia, blaming herself and apologizing to then Prime Minister Tony Blair for the misunderstanding).
Narindar Saroop, soldier and Tory politician. Returned CBE in 2016 in disgust at the "Dishonours List" of David Cameron "showering peerages, knighthoods and other rewards on friends and party backers".
Michael Sheen, Welsh actor (appointed OBE in the 2009 New Year Honours list for his services to drama[182]). In 2020 Sheen returned the award after researching the relationship between Wales and the British state, saying "I'd be a hypocrite if I said the things I was going to say in the lecture about the nature of the relationship between Wales and the British state."[183]
Susan Wighton, AIDS worker (returned MBE insignia in 2006 in protest at the British Government's Middle East foreign policies).
In June 1965 a number of holders of honours and decorations, mainly awarded for military service, returned their insignia in protest at the nomination of the four members of The Beatles for the MBE.[184] They included Hector Dupuis, a member of the House of Commons of Canada, Paul Pearson, a former RAFsquadron leader, and James Berg, all of whom returned their MBEs; David Evan Rees, a former sea captain, who returned his OBE; and Richard Pape, a wartime escapee and author, who returned his Military Medal.[185][186][187][188]
Paula Vennells, the former CEO of Post Office Limited, announced on 9 January 2024 that she would return the CBE awarded to her in the 2019 New Year Honours in light of the Post Office scandal in which many subpostmasters were wrongly accused - and some convicted - of criminal acts such as fraud and theft.[189]
Knights who have "renounced" their knighthoods include:
Maharajkumar of Vizianagram, cricketer (knighted in 1936; renounced knighthood in 1947 upon India's independence).
C. P. Ramaswami Iyer, lawyer, parliamentarian and administrator (knighted in 1926 with the KCIE and again in 1939 with the KCSI; renounced both knighthoods in 1948 following Indian independence).
Khwaja Nazimuddin, nobleman, administrator and politician who served as the Governor-General of Pakistan from 1948 to 1951 and as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1951 to 1953 (knighted in 1934 with the KCIE; renounced knighthood in 1946 due to his personal belief in independence from Britain).
Replacement honours proposed
Those objecting the British Honours system have proposed alternative honours.
Wales
There have been calls to introduce a Welsh honours system such as a "Medal Cymru" which was backed by a petition but the Senedd's Assembly Commission has said that it was not an appropriate time to introduce "Medal Cymru" due to the "current economic climate" in 2009. One particular option that was considered following a public consultation, was to award one "Medal Cymru" per year from the Senedd. Tanni Grey-Thompson has said that this proposal would be a "lovely idea".[190] In 2013, the St David Awards was launched alongside the existing British honours system, awarding Welsh people for "inspiring and exceptional work".[191] In 2021, a petition was launched to the Senedd titled "The inauguration of an Honorary National System of Awards; The Cymru Knighthood Award", proposing a Welsh honours system. The Welsh Government said that it did not have plans to introduce a Welsh honours system to replace the British honours system.[192] But Plaid Cymru still nominate members of the House of Lords at Westminster.
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