Helen Mirren receives prestigious British royal honor alongside Jewish recipients

Helen Mirren, one of the world’s most acclaimed actors, was added Friday to a very select group of people recognized by King Charles III for their “major contribution” over the years to British life, alongside several Jewish recipients.

The 80-year-old was named a “Companion of Honor,” one of the highest awards the king can bestow on citizens in the United Kingdom and across the Commonwealth, limited to only 65 people at any time.

Mirren’s elevation to the group, which also includes British environmentalist David Attenborough, Canadian author Margaret Atwood, and former British prime minister Gordon Brown, was one of the highlights of Charles’ latest award of honors.

The honors, which aim to reward individuals for their contributions to British life, are awarded twice a year to celebrities and public figures as well as ordinary people, once at New Year’s, and then in June, to mark the king’s birthday.

Nearly 1,200 people received honors in the king’s 2026 birthday list.

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Award recognizes Mirren’s services to drama

Mirren is no stranger to awards and has for decades been a star on stage and screen, as well as a powerful advocate for female actors.

She has tackled numerous classical parts in theater — both in the National Youth Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company from the 1960s — before winning roles in movies such as “The Long Good Friday,” “Excalibur,” and “The Madness of King George.”

She also wowed British television audiences with her portrayal of Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison over seven seasons of “Prime Suspect.”

At the Oscars in 2007, she won best actress for her performance in “The Queen,” a film that follows the late Queen Elizabeth II in the aftermath of the 1997 death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

More recently, Mirren portrayed Israel’s first and only female prime minister to date, Golda Meir, in the 2023 film “Golda.”

Mirren, who is not Jewish but a staunch supporter of Israel and the Jewish community, said in an interview promoting the movie that she believed “in the existence of Israel” and its right to exist “because of the Holocaust,” and spoke out against cultural boycotts of the Jewish state, saying it “didn’t seem right” to abandon Israeli artists.

Jewish community members among recipients

Introduced in 1917 by King George V, the “Companion of Honor” recognizes people who have made “a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine, or government” over an extended time period.

They remain members until they die, when a replacement is then added. A new member will likely be named at the next honors list in the new year, following the death Thursday of David Hockney, one of the most popular and critically lauded British artists of the last century.

The array of awards is chosen by civil servants’ committees based on nominations from the government and the public. They are usually given out by the king or a senior royal acting in his place, increasingly at Windsor Castle, where Charles largely resides.

Several members of the Jewish community were recognized on Friday, such as Israeli-British industrial designer Ron Arad, who was awarded for his contributions to art and design, the UK’s Jewish News reported.

Henry Grunwald, who until recently was the chair of the National Holocaust Museum, was also recognized for his services to Holocaust remembrance and education.

“It was an enormous privilege to have been Chair of the wonderful National Holocaust Museum. That was reward in itself. To receive a national honor for Holocaust education and remembrance is the icing on the cake,” Grunwald told Jewish News.

Other Jewish recipients included Professor Ian David Abrahams, for contributions to mathematical sciences, entrepreneur Debbie Wosskow, for championing women entrepreneurs and improving access to funding, and Jonathan Sherman, a director at HMRC, the UK’s tax, payments and customs authority, for public service.

Jewish News further reported that David Dein, one of the individuals behind the formation of the UK’s Premier League and a longtime executive for the Arsenal soccer team, received an award for services to soccer and charity. In 2018, he founded the Twinning Project, which uses partnerships between football clubs and prisons to support offender rehabilitation.

Additionally, Raymond Simonson, chief executive of the Jewish Community Center London, was awarded for his contributions to Jewish communities and community cohesion.

“I’m the son and grandson of immigrants and refugees who survived persecution and the Holocaust and came to Britain with almost nothing,” Simonson told Jewish News. “When I started my career as a community and youth worker, I never imagined receiving an honor such as this, and I am profoundly grateful.”