King’s Birthday Honours list; who was the oldest and the youngest recipient of an honour in recent years?

The first King’s Birthday Honours list was announced last night, with congratulations to Stephen Frears, Dame Anna Wintour DBE, Davina McCall and Ian Wright, to name a mere few. But amongst the incredibly exhaustive list of names (believe me - I went through all 156 pages alongside some appendices), we discovered that this year's oldest recipient, is Joan Willett at 106 years old who has received a BEM for her charitable fundraising for the British Heart Foundation. The youngest recipient this year is Junior Jay Frood, who is 18 years old and receives a BEM for services to vulnerable children.

That led some of us at Peopleworld were curious as to who is the oldest and the youngest recipient of a Queen's honour. As it turns out, we only have to go back to last year, the final Queen’s Birthday Honours list, to get the answer for both - and the age difference between the two recipients is a pretty substantial 93 years apart. 

The oldest person before Joan Willet to have received an honour is Angela Redgrave, who received her honour at the age of 104; Redgrave was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in recognition of her lifelong dedication to the arts and her services to dance. Redgrave has been the principal of the Bristol School of Dancing since 1970 and has taught thousands of young people. She expressed her delight and honour at receiving the award and mentioned her commitment to making dance accessible to all children. 

The honour wasn’t the only award she received; Redgrave's professionalism and dedication to teaching have previously been acknowledged with a lifetime achievement award from The Royal Academy of Dance. 

As for the youngest so far, ​​11 year old Tobias Weller made history too last year, receiving an honours award for his outstanding charity fundraising efforts during the pandemic. Inspired by Captain Sir Tom Moore, Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, raised an impressive £157,000 for Paces School and The Children's Hospital Charity in Sheffield. 

His achievements, including completing sponsored walks and an Ironman challenge, earned him the British Empire Medal (BEM). Tobias expressed his excitement and pride at being recognized by the Queen, and eagerly anticipated the opportunity to meet her at a royal garden party.