Damian Lewis and Stella McCartney named in Queen's Birthday Honours list

Damian Lewis and Stella McCartney are among the celebrities included on Queen Elizabeth II's Birthday Honours list.

The list, which recognises the public service of individuals across the U.K., was released on Thursday in celebration of the British monarch's Platinum Jubilee.

Lewis will receive the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to drama and charity in light of initiating the campaign to raise funds to provide food for National Health Service (NHS) workers throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. The actor worked on the project with his wife Helen McCrory, who died of cancer at the age of 52 last April.

"What a great honour to be awarded the CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to drama and for the charity work that I have carried out over the years and during the pandemic with my late wife, Helen McCrory," he said in a statement. "Thank you very much. She and I are both thrilled."

Meanwhile, fashion designer and sustainability campaigner McCartney is to be honoured with the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Other famous names included on the list were author Sir Salman Rushdie and illustrator Sir Quentin Blake, who are to be made Companions of Honour, while former footballer and commentator Rio Ferdinand will receive an OBE for his activism and charity work and Welsh footballer Gareth Bale is to be bestowed with an MBE for services to football and charity.

"This historic Platinum Jubilee is not only a celebration of the monarch but of the qualities she possesses. The honours she confers this week reflect many of those qualities that have been invaluable from all different walks of life and to communities across the UK," said Prime Minister Boris Johnson. "I pay tribute to all of this year's winners. Their stories of courage and compassion are an inspiration to us all."