King to award CBE to actor who portrayed him on screen
The actor will be honoured alongside Channel 4 Countdown wordsmith Susie Dent and record-breaking explorer Alicia Hempleman-Adams.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An actor who has portrayed the King and Edward VIII in film and television will receive a CBE at Windsor Castle on Tuesday.
Alex Jennings, who played the then-prince of Wales opposite Dame Helen Mirren in the 2006 film The Queen, will be presented the award by his royal lookalike, the King.
Jennings will be joined by 65 others, including Channel 4 Countdown wordsmith Susie Dent, the explorer and hot air balloonist Alicia Hempleman-Adams and 103-year-old Havildar Major Rajindar Dhatt, one of the few surviving Sikh soldiers who fought for Britain during the Second World War.
Jennings, who played Edward VIII in Netflix series The Crown, was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours for services to Drama.
He is also the only performer to have won an Olivier Award in all three of the drama, musical, and comedy categories.
Explorer Ms Hempleman-Adams, who previously set the world female altitude record in 2020 flying a hot air balloon at 4,628 metres (15,100ft), is receiving an MBE for services to hot air ballooning.
This year, the 35-year-old set world records for a female solo flight in a thermal airship for altitude, distance, and duration after she reached an altitude of 4,100ft (1250m) while flying in the US state of Connecticut, travelling 20.5km in just one hour and seven minutes.
Ms Hempleman-Adams’s father, Sir David Hempleman-Adams, holds the equivalent male world records which he set in 2004 while flying the same hot-air airship used by his daughter.
Dent has been made an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours for services to literature and language.
An expert on the origins and history of words with a degree in modern languages from Oxford and over 10 published books, Dent has appeared in the “dictionary corner” of the Channel 4 game show Countdown since 1992, making more than 5,000 appearances where she checks unusual words suggested by contestants and explains their origins.
Major Dhatt will also receive a royal honour honour at Windsor on Tuesday.
Born in prepartition India in 1921, the 103-year-old is the co-founder of the Undivided Indian Ex-Servicemen’s Association which brings together British-Indian war veterans.
Major Dhatt, who fought during the Second World War as a Sergeant Major in the British Indian Army, is being made an honorary MBE for services to the South Asian community in the UK.