New Year Honours

What it is

Every year on the first of January, Britain issues a list of honours. Some of the names on it are appointments to the orders of chivalry. Others belong to people who are given a different official honour. The awards come from the sovereign, or through a vice-regal representative who acts for the sovereign. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark the day with their own lists, each run by its own honours system. In Britain the list appears in a supplement to the London Gazette, the paper that carries official state notices.

Origins and history

Awards at New Year go back a long way. On 2 January 1890, the London Gazette printed a list of Queen Victoria's honours, and the custom reaches at least to that point. The record is not unbroken. Nothing was issued at the start of 1902, because awards had already been released that November, to mark the birthday of the monarch who had just taken the throne. Lists returned in January 1903. Up to 1909 they carried Indian orders only, and the remaining orders waited for the monarch's birthday, which fell in November. War in Europe, beginning in September 1939, meant no awards in 1940 either.

How the day works

The list is kept back until the year turns, so the honours land on the first morning of January. In Britain, the London Gazette carries the whole list in a supplement, and the press then goes through the names. The sovereign, King Charles III today, grants the awards, or a vice-regal representative does so on the sovereign's behalf in a realm abroad. Because several Commonwealth countries use the same date, a reader can meet more than one national list on the same day, each drawn from a separate system with separate rules.

Australia's change

Australia used to take part in the New Year announcements and later stopped. Its final New Year awards came in 1989. Since then, the country has named its recipients on two other dates: Australia Day, 26 January, and the holiday for the sovereign's official birthday, which arrives in early June. Australia now works through an honours system of its own. Canada and New Zealand have kept the 1 January timing. India belongs to the older part of the story, since the New Year lists before 1909 contained Indian orders.

How New Year Honours is kept

Each year the process ends on 1 January. Before that, the names are gathered and settled within the honours system of each country taking part. On the morning of 1 January the list is released. In Britain it goes into a supplement to the London Gazette. Newspapers, radio and television then report the names. The people on the list receive their awards from the sovereign, or from a vice-regal representative acting for the Crown. Other Commonwealth realms publish their own lists on the same date, following their own systems.

When and where

It falls on 1 January, New Year's Day, every year. That date is fixed, so no calculation is needed. Past years show how the schedule can shift: no list came in 1902 or 1940, and Australia has moved its announcements to other days. Australia Day is 26 January, and the holiday for the sovereign's official birthday comes in early June.

The tradition belongs to the United Kingdom, where the New Year Honours began and where the London Gazette prints the list. Other Commonwealth realms keep the same date, among them Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Australia now issues its awards on other days instead. London is the city bound up with the practice, because the Gazette, the official record that carries the British list, is published there.

What New Year Honours means

For the people named, the list brings public recognition from the state on the year's first day. The honours tie each recipient to a long line of chivalric orders whose members have been enrolled for more than a century. For the monarch, the list is one of the moments when the Crown's place as the source of honours is on show. Because several countries share the date, 1 January also sets their separate national systems side by side.

Questions people ask about New Year Honours

See also

Trooping the ColourThe annual British military parade marking the official birthday of the monarch.Waitangi DayNew Zealand's national day remembering the 1840 founding agreement.Victoria DayA Canadian public holiday celebrating the monarch and welcoming the return of summerKing's Official BirthdayA day when Commonwealth realms mark the monarch's birthday, seldom the real date

Good reading and sources

• New Year Honours on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-14.