The Queen honours LGBT campaigners in Birthday Honours List
Queen Elizabeth has honoured LGBT campaigners in her Birthday Honours List.
The biannual awards recognise exceptional work by British and Commonwealth citizens, most of whom are not known to the wider public.
In recent years the awards have been extended to people who have dedicated their lives to the LGBT community.
A total of 1,109 people have been recognised for their achievements in the 2017 Birthday Honours list.
Among those honoured are a series of people for services to the LGBT community.
Gary Hardman, who has helped thousands of gay and bisexual men in Manchester with a self-help group, Icebreakers, receives an OBE for services to the LGBT community.
Former director of Manchester’s LGBT Foundation, Gwynn Starkey, also receives an OBE.
Nigel Patrick Harris, director of the Camden LGBT Forum and Babak Erfani, Chair of Archway LGBT Network, in north London, are also awarded OBEs.
Peggy Sherwood, chair of the Jewish Gay and Lesbian Group, is honoured with an MBE for services to the Jewish community.
One of the world’s most powerful LGBT business leaders, the boss of Australian airline Qantas Alan Joyce was named in the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
Among others honoured in the list the Queen has awarded Harry Potter author JK Rowling The Order of the Companion of Honour.
Rowling is receiving the award for services to literature and philanthropy.
Many online, though, would give JK Rowling the award for her Twitter game alone.
She recently slayed a homophobic Trump fan and shut down another Trump advocate on the anniversary of Voldermort’s defeat.
