JENNI MURRAY: The honours system is sexist - and I say that as a proud Dame! By JENNI MURRAY, COLUMNIST FOR FEMAIL MAGAZINE Published: 01:29, 2 January 2025 | Updated: 01:29, 2 January 2025 e-mail View comments Nothing has surprised, shocked and delighted me more than the letter I received from the Cabinet Office telling me I was to become a Dame. The year was 2011 and I’d had a similar communication in 1999 inviting me to the Palace to receive an OBE. That had been amazing, but a Damehood for my contribution to broadcasting was something else.
How could a working-class girl from Barnsley be thought worthy of such an honour? Stephen Fry , who’s been awarded a Knighthood in the New Year Honours list this week, admitted similar sentiments. He asked himself how a formerly naughty boy (‘expelled from a lot of schools; went to prison..
.’) could have risen to the heights of being dubbed Sir Stephen. I know exactly what he meant.
That said, in the Mail’s analysis of this year’s list, one thing in particular caught my eye: the proportion of those rejecting the honour has risen by a quarter in three years. Since Charles became King in 2022, more than 120 people have turned down an honour. Although the annual figures fluctuate and remain small, 2024 marked the second highest number of refusals in 15 years.
I would never have dreamt of refusing, but there is something about the honours system that makes me uncomfortable. I have a huge certificate, signed by the Queen, which .
