King Charles has stripped 15 people of their honours so far this year.

King Charles has stripped 15 people of their honours so far this year, according to the Cabinet Office’s official forfeiture register (last updated 1 October 2026).

Honours such as MBEs, OBEs, CBEs, KCBs and knighthoods are awarded by the Sovereign on the advice of government, usually for outstanding service. They are not permanent. The Honours Forfeiture Committee reviews cases and can recommend revocation where a recipient has brought the system into disrepute—typically through criminal convictions, professional censure or other serious misconduct. The King then directs that the honour be cancelled and the name erased from the register. Recipients must stop using the post-nominal letters and are expected to return the insignia. Decisions are published in the London Gazette and on GOV.UK.

Breakdown by announcement

March 2026 (9 people)

• Ian Ashbolt (MBE 2016) – criminal conviction

• Lloyd Hamilton (MBE 2011) – criminal conviction

• Angela Middleton (MBE 2019) – bringing the honours system into disrepute

• Nigel O’Connor (MBE 2015) – professional censure

• Tony Reilly (OBE 2011) – professional censure

• Paul Rose (MBE 2002) – criminal conviction

• Anant Shah (OBE 2020) – bringing the honours system into disrepute

• Graham Trewhella (MBE 2010) – criminal conviction

• Stuart Hogg (MBE 2024) – criminal conviction

July 2026 (1 person)

• Jeffrey Donaldson (Knight Bachelor 2016) – criminal conviction

October 2026 (5 people)

• Ben Key (KCB 2021 and CBE 2016) – professional censure

• Maqsood Ahmad (OBE 2010) – bringing the honours system into disrepute

• Ian Hudson (OBE 2020) – criminal conviction

• Nirpal Riat (OBE 2011) – bringing the honours system into disrepute

• Charles Montegriffo (MBE 2007) – criminal conviction

This brings the total number of people (and associated honours) forfeited since the register began in August 2023 to 48, covering 27 MBEs, 15 OBEs, three CBEs, two BEMs and two knighthoods. Ben Key is notable as the first person on the published list to lose two honours in a single decision.

Notable cases

• Jeffrey Donaldson, former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, lost his knighthood after conviction for historical sexual offences against two women when they were children. He was later sentenced to 15 years in prison.

• Stuart Hogg, the former Scotland rugby captain and British & Irish Lions full-back, lost the MBE he received in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to rugby following a domestic-abuse conviction.

• Ben Key, the former First Sea Lord (professional head of the Royal Navy), lost both his KCB and CBE after professional censure linked to a personal relationship with a subordinate. He had already been dismissed from the service.

• Other cases include Paul Rose (founder of Barrow’s Owl Sanctuary, animal-welfare offences), Charles Montegriffo (child sexual offences), and several individuals removed for bringing the system into disrepute or professional misconduct.

The process is deliberately non-political in intent: the Forfeiture Committee (chaired by a senior civil servant with independent members) examines evidence of disrepute and advises the Prime Minister, who in turn advises the King. Supporters of the system argue that removals protect the value and integrity of honours; critics sometimes question consistency or the speed of action in high-profile cases.

The figures are drawn from the official Cabinet Office list of individuals whose honours have been revoked by the Sovereign (published and updated on GOV.UK).