New Lord Mayoralty

On the 14th of March 2012 Her Majesty the Queen honoured the city of Armagh in Northern Ireland with the title of Lord Mayor; this will allow Armagh City and District Council to elect a Councillor of the Council Lord Mayor instead of Mayor.

Queen Honours Towns

On the 14th of March 2012 Her Majesty the Queen honoured the following three towns with title of city.

Chelmsford in Essex

Perth in Perthshire

St Asaph in Denbighshire

The grant of city status is honorary and can only be awarded by the Queen, it gives the towns no additional power or funding.

New Deputy Lieutenants of North Yorkshire

On the 9th of March 2012, Lord Crathorne, Lord-Lieutenant of North Yorkshire commissioned the following to become Deputy Lieutenants of the North Yorkshire.

Lord Best OBE

Baroness Grey-Thompson DBE

Professor Graham Henderson CBE

Mrs Alexandra Holford

Dr Richard Shephard

Mr Simon Theakston

New Member of the United Kingdom Privy Council

On the 9th of March 2012, Her Majesty the Queen approved the following person member of Her Majesty’s most Honourable Privy Council.

Hon Lord Menzies

New Deputy Lieutenants of the West Midlands

On the 28th of February 2012, Mr Paul Sabapathy CBE, Lord-Lieutenant of the West Midlands commissioned the following to become Deputy Lieutenants of the West Midlands.

Professor David Eastwood

Mr David Stuart Frost CBE

Mr Christopher Peter Sims OBE QPM

Mrs Satinder Kaur Taunque

New Princess of Sweden

On the 23rd of February 2012 Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden gave birth to a baby girl at Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden. On the 24th of February King Carl XVI Gustaf announced the princess’s name is Estelle Silvia Ewa Mary and has been given the title Duchess of Östergötland the young princess is second in line to the Swedish throne behind her mother.

New Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire

On the 22nd of February 2012, Helen Nellis became Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire when Sir Samuel Whitbread KCVO retired after 21 years of Public service.

Royal Tours of 2012

Below outlines the upcoming royal tours abroad 

The Earl and Countess of Wessex will visit St Lucia, Barbados, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, Anguilla and Antigua and Barbuda from the 21st of February till the 7th of March.

Prince Harry of Wales will visit Belize from the 2nd of March till the 3rd of March The Bahamas from the 3rd of March till the 5th of March Jamaica from the 5th of March till the 8th of March and Brazil from the 9th till the 11th of March.

The Duke of Gloucester will visit the British Virgin Islands on the 5th of March.

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall will visit Norway, Sweden and Denmark from the 20th of March till the 27th of March.

New Deputy Lieutenants of the County of Wiltshire

On the 3rd of February 2012, Mr John Bush CVO OBE KStJ JP, Lord-Lieutenant of the County of Wiltshire commissioned the following to become Deputy Lieutenants of the County of Wiltshire.

Mr David Leonard Brewer

Mr Michael Jeremy Hodges

Mr Ram Thiagarajah JP

New Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire

On the 13th of February 2012, Ian Dudson CBE DL was appointed by the Queen to become Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire when Sir James Hawley KCVO retires on the 28th of March 2012.

New Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Oxfordshire

On the 30th January 2012, Mr Tim Stevenson OBE, Lord-Lieutenant of the County of Oxfordshire commissioned the following to become Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Oxfordshire.

Rev Canon Glyn Peter Evans

New Deputy Lieutenants of the County of Lancashire

On the 27th of January 2012, The Rt Hon Lord Shuttleworth KCVO, Lord-Lieutenant of the County of Lancashire commissioned the following to become Deputy Lieutenants of the County of Lancashire.

Bill Beaumont Esq CBE

David Edward Cam Esq

Mrs Carole Pamela Cochrane

Mrs Diane Duke

Kamruddin Kothia Esq

Mr Robert Mitchel Webb

New Vice Lord and Deputy Lieutenants of the County of Cumbria

On the 26th of January 2012, Sir James Cropper KCVO, Lord-Lieutenant of the County of Cumbria appointed The Rt Hon Lord Inglewood Vice Lord-Lieutenant and commissioned John William Green Esq MBE to become a Deputy Lieutenant.

New Deputy Lieutenants of the County of Cambridgeshire

On the 25th January 2012, Hugh Duberly Esq CBE, Lord-Lieutenant of the County of Cambridgeshire commissioned the following to become Deputy Lieutenants of the County of Cambridgeshire.

Professor Sir Leszek K Borysiewicz

Timothy H Breitmeyer Esq

Mr Thomas M C Green

Mrs Margaret M P Mair

New Vice Lord Lieutenant for the County of Somerset

On the 20th of January 2012, Lady Gass, Lord-Lieutenant of the County of Somerset appointed Mr David John Medlock Esq DL Vice Lord-Lieutenant of the County of Somerset.

New Vice Lord and Deputy Lieutenants for the County of Gwent

On the 18th of January 2012, Simon Boyle, Lord-Lieutenant of the County of Gwent appointed Commodore Tobin David Elliott OBE RN DL Vice Lord-Lieutenant of the County of Gwent and commissioned Mr David Wyndham Morgan and Brigadier Robert Hanbury Tenison Aitken CBE to become Deputy Lieutenants of the County of Gwent.

New Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire

On the 18th of January 2012, Dame Mary Fagan DCVO, Lord-Lieutenant of the County of Hampshire commissioned the following to become Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Hampshire.

Mr Peter Maxwell Herman Andreae Esq

New Life Peer

On the 10th of January 2012, Sir Augustine Thomas O’Donnell GCB former Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service was elevated to the title of Baron O’Donnell of Clapham in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Under the Life Peerage Act 1958 and will sit in the House of Lords as a Crossbencher.

New Members of the Order of Merit

On the 1st of January 2012, Her Majesty the Queen appointed the following people members of the Order of Merit.
Mr David Hockney CH RA
Mr John Howard AC SSI

New Years Honours 2012

On the 31st of December 2011, the New Year honours list was announced honouring more than a thousand people across the commonwealth realms. Including well known people such as Dickie Bird, Helena Bonham-Carter, Darren Clarke, Ronnie Corbett, Alex Crawford, Stuart Hall, Lorraine Kelly, Nigel Mansell, Rory Mcilroy, Christopher Paterson, Sarah Stevenson and Martyn Williams.