Lord Peter Hennessy appointed Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter
Professor the Lord Peter Hennessy (1966) has been appointed as a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter by King Charles.
Knights of the Garter are chosen personally by the King to honour those who have held public office, who have contributed in a particular way to national life or who have served the Sovereign personally. The Order of the Garter is the oldest and most senior Order of Chivalry in Britain.
The historian and former journalist said: “For someone who has spent his entire professional life talking too often and, probably, too loudly, the phone call from Buckingham Palace was instantly a life-changing event as it reduced me to complete silence for a considerable time. The KG is a glorious honour. The kit is dazzling, especially the plumage. A well-placed friend told me a flock of ostriches had been sighted pecking their way nervously up to St James’s Park.”
Lord Hennessy started his journalism career writing political pieces for The Times, Financial Times and The Economist. He was a regular presenter on BBC current affairs programmes from the 1980s. In 1986 he co-founded the Institute of Contemporary British History and began his academic career, specialising in the history of UK government. He was appointed Professor at Queen Mary University of London. In the 2010s he interviewed senior politicians about their life and times for Radio 4’s Reflections series. He was made a life peer in 2010. He was President of the Beaufort Society at St John’s from 2015 to 2019.
Heather Hancock, Master of St John’s College, said: “Lord Hennessy is widely admired as a pre‑eminent historian of contemporary Britain – perceptive, clear‑sighted, and a much‑needed advocate for politics grounded in decency, compromise and a renewed sense of duty. His appointment as KG has of course been warmly welcomed, but nowhere more than here at St John’s, where Peter is held in great respect and deep affection, and where his many services to the College over the years are remembered with gratitude.”
Photo credit: Lottie Ettling Photography
