Birthday Honours 2026
Shelagh Legrave DBE
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
Chief Executive Officer
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire · 2026
“For services to Education.”
Recognised for
Topics
London Gazette notice
Order of the British Empire
Civil Division
Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood
St. James’s Palace, London SW1
13 June 2026
THE KING has been graciously pleased, on the occasion of the Celebration of His Majesty’s Birthday, to give orders for the following promotions in, and appointments to, the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire:
D.B.E.
To be Ordinary Dames Commander of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order:
Shelagh Jane LEGRAVE C.B.E. D.L.
Further Education Commissioner
For services to Education.
Source: The London Gazette, issue 65091 · Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0
London Gazette notice
Order of the British Empire
Civil Division
Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood
St. James’s Palace, London SW1
12 June 2021
THE QUEEN has been graciously pleased, on the occasion of the Celebration of Her Majesty’s Birthday, to give orders for the following promotions in, and appointments to, the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire:
C.B.E.
To be Ordinary Commanders of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order:
Shelagh Jane LEGRAVE O.B.E.
Chief Executive Officer, Chichester College Group
For services to Education.
Source: The London Gazette, issue 63377 · Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0
Location
See other people honoured from Midhurst →
Location comes from the Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list, not the Gazette notice, and isn’t available for every honour.
In context
Each honour in context
Role, region and citation as recorded for each award.
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Birthday Honours 2021- Role at the time
- Chief Executive Officer
- Region
- Midhurst, West Sussex
“For services to Education.”
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Birthday Honours 2026- Region
- Chichester, West Sussex
“For services to Education.”
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Birthday Honours 2026
Shelagh Legrave
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
“For services to Education.”
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Birthday Honours 2026
Shelagh Legrave
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
“For services to Education.”
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Birthday Honours 2026
Shelagh Legrave
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
“For services to Education.”
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In context
The bigger picture
How common is this award?
The Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire was awarded 17 times in the Birthday Honours List 2026 — about 1% of the list.
In their area
3 Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire recipients are from West Sussex.
How widely is this recognised?
6,604 people have been recognised for Education.
Counts reflect the 1937–2026 honours lists in our records; earlier years are not yet included.
Honoured alongside them
Others awarded the Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Birthday Honours 2026
Anna Taylor
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Canterbury, Kent
“For services to Reforming the Food System.”
Beverly Lindsay
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Birmingham, West Midlands
“For services to the West Midlands and to Charity.”
Carol Brayne
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
“For services to Medicine, Medical Research and Public Health.”
Crystal Oldman
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Crowborough, East Sussex
“For services to Nursing.”
Hayaatun Sillem
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Engineering.”
Heather Stevens
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Vale of Glamorgan, South Glamorgan
“For services to the Environment, to Young People and to Philanthropy in Wales.”
Helen Gordon
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to the Property Industry.”
Jane Fraser
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Abroad
“For services to the Financial Sector.”
Jessica Morden
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Newport, Gwent
“For Political and Public Service.”
Julia Catherine Donaldson
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Horsham, West Sussex
“For services to Literature.”
Malorie Blackman
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Literature.”
Melanie Hall (melanie Jane Davies)
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Leicester, Leicestershire
“For services to Global Diabetes Research, Policy and Care Management.”
Sarah Hackman
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Dundee, City of Dundee
“For services to Forensic Anthropology and Disaster Victim Identification.”
Serena Kennedy
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Wigan, Greater Manchester
“For services to Policing.”
Sheila Bird
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Kettering, Northamptonshire
“For services to Statistics.”
Sumeshni Tranka
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Ross on Wye, Herefordshire
“For services to Nursing.”
In the same field
Others recognised for Education
Across the 1937–2026 honours lists in our records, 6,604 people have been recognised for Education. See the full list →
Stephen Thurston Munby
PersonKnight Bachelor · 2026
Kendal, Cumbria
“For services to Education.”
Rachael Ross
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Hinton Daubnay, Hampshire
“For services to Education, to Policy and to People with Down Syndrome.”
Debra Gray
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Dronfield, Derbyshire
“For services to Further Education.”
Keri Scott
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
“For services to Education in Gibraltar.”
Glenda Mctaggart
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
“For services to Education in the Cayman Islands.”
Julia Downey
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
“For services to Children and Education in Moldova.”
Barbara Connell
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
“For services to Education and Young People in The Gambia.”
Alison Turner
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to the Learning Disabled and Neurodiverse Community.”
Audrey Moore
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Limavady, County Londonderry
“For voluntary services to Special Education.”
Jamie Goddard
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Chepstow, Gwent
“For services to Education, to Charity and to Young People.”
Julie Gard
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Bracknell, Berkshire
“For services to Further Education.”
Lilian Field
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Strathdon, Aberdeenshire
“For services to Rural Education.”
Mary Boam
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Ashbourne, Derbyshire
“For services to Early Years Education.”
Roy Bowden
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Worthing, West Sussex
“For services to Further Education.”
Michael Hamblin
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
“For services to Education in Kenya.”
Wilfred Eaton
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
“For services to Child Welfare and Education in Kenya and to UK/Kenya Relations.”
Elizabeth Eaton
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
“For services to Child Welfare and Education in Kenya and to UK/Kenya Relations.”
Tariq Obaide
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
“For services to British Education Overseas and to UK/Morocco Relations.”
Simon Wood
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Frinton on Sea, Essex
“For services to Education.”
Lucille Windle
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Dronfield, Derbyshire
“For services to Education.”
Emma Whitfield
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Walton-On-Thames, Surrey
“For services to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.”
Gary Stevens
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Halesowen, West Midlands
“For services to Manufacturing, to International Trade and to Apprenticeships.”
Pauline Smith
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Chatham, Kent
“For services to Education, Skills and Employability.”
Neerasha Singh
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Greenhithe, Kent
“For services to Early Years Education.”
Source & provenance
Where this record comes from
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire · 2026
London Gazette (official record), issue 65091, notice 5152985. View the official notice ↗
Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list (Birthday Honours List 2026).
Published 12 June 2026.
Commander of the Order of the British Empire · 2021
London Gazette (official record), issue 63377, notice 3817521. View the official notice ↗
Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list (Birthday Honours List 2021).
Published 11 June 2021.
Location (Midhurst, West Sussex) comes from the Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list, not the Gazette notice, which records no recipient home location.
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