The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of

orders of chivalry An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is an order (distinction), order of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic Military order (religious society), military orders of the ...

and recipients of other official honours. A number of other

Commonwealth realm A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations whose monarch and head of state is shared among the other realms. Each realm functions as an independent state, equal with the other realms and nations of the Commonwealt ...

s also mark this day in this way. The awards are presented by or in the name of the reigning monarch, currently King Charles III or his vice-regal representative. British honours are published in supplements to the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

''. Honours have been awarded at New Year since at least 1890, in which year a list of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

's awards was published by the ''London Gazette'' on 2 January. There was no honours list at New Year 1902, as a list had been published on the new King's birthday the previous November, but in January 1903 a list was again published, though including only Indian orders until 1909 (while the other orders were announced on the King's birthday in November). There were also no honours issued in 1940, due to the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

in September 1939.

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

discontinued its New Year Honours in 1989, and now announces its honours on

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port ...

, 26 January, and the King's Official Birthday holiday, in early June.

References

External links

Honours lists
– List and links of New Year honours lists as published in the

(since 1940)
Honours lists
– List and links of New Year honours lists as published in the

(1890–1939) {{Honours Lists 1890 establishments in the United Kingdom Awards established in 1890

See also

References

External links