Princess Kate personally awarded new title by King Charles to thank her for taking on new responsibilities
THE King has personally awarded the Princess of Wales a new title in recognition of her years of public service.
Kate, 42, who is undergoing cancer treatment, is the first recipient of The Royal Companion of The Order of the Companions of Honour.
It comes amid a growing closeness between King and Kate who The Sun revealed shared a lunch at Windsor Castle last month after their cancer shocks.
But the gong is said to have been personally chosen by the King because of the “esteem in which she is held” and “recognition in taking on more responsibilities” since becoming Princess of Wales.
The honorific title puts her as the most senior member of holders of the regular The Order of the Companion of Honour, such as Sir Paul McCartney and Sir David Attenborough.
Others include JK Rowling, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Dame Vera Lynn, Sir Elton John, and Winston Churchill.
It comes as King Charles, 76, also makes the Queen, 76, a Grand Master and First or Principal Dame Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
Prince William, 41, has been appointed Great Master of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, taking over the title held by his father until he became King.
The Duchess of Gloucester, 77, is one of four new Companions to the Order of the Garter, as a reward for her long service.
The other three are Air Chief Marshal the Lord Peach, Lord Kakkar and Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber, all to be a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
It is traditional for the King to announce honorific gongs such as this to be handed out on St George’s Day.
A royal source said: “It is recognition and reward for services and work that the Prince, Princess, Queen and Duchess have contributed to public life, all the more so since Accession.”
The Order of the Companions of Honour was founded by King George V in 1917 to recognise outstanding achievements in the arts, sciences, medicine and public service.
Kate has had a life-long love of arts and photography and the topic of her her “Angels from Heaven: Lewis Carroll’s Photographic Interpretation of Childhood,” was submitted as part of her master’s degree, at University of St Andrews.
The order’s motto is “In action faithful and in honour clear”.
The awards today – which also include new members to the Order of the Garter which is the highest chivalric prize dating back 700 years and inspired by Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable – are personal gifts from the King.
Kate has missed out on being appointed as Order of the Garter although that post has gone to The Duchess of Gloucester.
The Order of the Garter is the oldest and most senior Order of Chivalry in Britain and is celebrated each year with a procession and service in the grounds of Windsor Castle.
Kate, although not a member, has attended for the past 15 years riding in a carriage with Prince William who is a Knight of the Garter.
Disgraced Prince Andrew, 64, remains a Knight of the Garter but banned from last two public processions after paying millions of pounds to Virginia Giuffre who claimed she was trafficked to have sex with the royal by dead paedo billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
William has been awarded with the Great Master of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, which was established by King George I in 1725 and It is awarded to members of the military or civil service for exemplary service.
The Queen is the Grand Master and First or Principal Dame Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and previous holders include Prince Philip from 1953 to 2021.
The Order of the British Empire was established by King George V in 1917 to honour a broader cross section of society, both military and civilian.