{{Short description|UK national government awards}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}} {{Use British English|date=December 2011}} The '''Birthday Honours''', in some [[Commonwealth realm]]s, mark the [[King's Official Birthday|reigning monarch's official birthday]] in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into [[Order (honour)|national]] or [[Dynastic order of knighthood|dynastic orders]] or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are presented by the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|monarch]] or a [[viceregal]] representative. The Birthday Honours are one of two annual honours lists, along with the [[New Year Honours]]. All royal honours are published in the relevant [[Government gazette|gazette]].
==History== Honours have been awarded with few exceptions on the sovereign's birthday since at least [[1860 Birthday Honours|1860]], during the reign of [[Queen Victoria]]. There was no Birthday Honours list issued in 1876, which brought "a good deal of disappointment" and even rebuke for the Ministry of Defence. A lengthy article in the ''Broad Arrow'' newspaper forgave the Queen and criticised [[Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Earl of Cranbrook|Gathorne Hardy]] for neglecting to award worthy soldiers with the [[Order of the Bath]]: "With the War Minister all general patronage of this description rests, and if Mr. Hardy has not seen fit to mark the occasion in the usual way, he alone can be blamed or praised for having neglected to follow in the beaten track of his predecessors." At the same time, it was noted that the Queen appeared to have issued her own honours by appointing the [[Edward VII|Prince of Wales]] and the [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn|Duke of Connaught]] to be her personal ''aides-de-camp'' and the ailing King [[George V of Hanover|George of Hanover]] to be a general in the British Army.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Birthday Gazette |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000587/18760610/008/0003 |access-date=23 November 2018 |work=Broad Arrow |date=10 June 1876 |page=3 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> The first birthday as king of her successor, [[Edward VII]] (r. 1901–1910), fell on 9 November 1901.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27374 |date=9 November 1901 |page=7287 |supp=y}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27376 |date=12 November 1901 |page=7291}}</ref>
From 1959, the monarch's official birthday in the United Kingdom was moved to a Saturday in early June. Other Commonwealth realms celebrate the official birthday of the monarch on different dates (generally late May or early June); honours are awarded accordingly. The Birthday Honours were not issued on occasions when they coincided with Jubilee Honours in [[1887 Golden Jubilee Honours|1887]] and [[1897 Diamond Jubilee Honours|1897]] and Coronation Honours in [[1911 Coronation Honours|1911]], [[1937 Coronation Honours|1937]], and [[1953 Coronation Honours|1953]].
The 2020 British Honours were postponed until the autumn because of the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom|COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Queen's Birthday Honours List delayed until autumn amid coronavirus | work=Metro|location=UK | date=20 May 2020 | url=https://metro.co.uk/2020/05/20/queens-birthday-honours-list-delayed-autumn-amid-coronavirus-12734075/ | access-date=13 July 2020}}</ref>
==See also== * [[Honours Committee]] * [[Order of Australia]] * [[Prime Minister's Resignation Honours]] There are many articles on various years' honours. The format is consistent; change the year in the following examples. Many post-imperial entries have sections for the various Commonwealth realms. * [[1893 Birthday Honours]] * [[1920 Birthday Honours (New Zealand)]] * [[1990 Birthday Honours (Queen Mother)]] * [[2021 Birthday Honours]] * {{intitle|Birthday Honours}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists Honours lists] – List and links of birthday honours lists as published in the ''[[London Gazette]]'' (since 1940) * [https://www.thegazette.co.uk/all-notices/content/100862 Honours lists] – List and links of birthday honours lists as published in the ''[[London Gazette]]'' (1885–1939)
{{Honours Lists}} {{Australian Honours Lists}} {{New Zealand honours lists}}
[[Category:Birthday Honours| ]] [[Category:1908 establishments in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Awards established in 1908]]