Jilly Cooper, the bestselling author, has been honoured with a damehood 20 years after defending her friend Queen Camilla as she collected her OBE.
The 86-year-old ‘bonkbuster’ novelist, who counts Rishi Sunak among her fans, said she was “incredibly bowled over” by her award for services to literature and charity.
She is chiefly known for her Rutshire Chronicles, which focus on scandal and adultery in upper class society, featuring titles such as Riders, Rivals, Polo, Mount! and The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous, along with her most recent work, 2023’s Tackle!.
The Prime Minister revealed earlier this year that he enjoys the steamy books which help him wind down from the rigours of his day job in Downing Street.
Dame Jilly’s latest accolade, announced in the 2024 New Year’s Honours list, comes two decades after she stuck up for Queen Camilla, then Mrs Parker Bowles, as she accepted an OBE at Buckingham Palace.
Speaking on the day of the awards ceremony, where she was presented with the honour by King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, she praised the future queen, declaring: “I love her very much. She’s very special.”
Charles and Camilla, who were living together but not yet married, had struggled to win the hearts of the British public and faced intense scrutiny from the media over their relationship.
Dame Jilly said at the time: “I love her and I just want her to be happy.”
Other celebrities honoured in this year’s list include Sir Ridley Scott, the director and producer, whose works include Gladiator, Alien and Napoleon, and Oliver Ford Davies and Emilia Clarke, the Game Of Thrones actors.
Sir Ridley had his existing knighthood upgraded, Mr Ford Davies has been made an OBE, and Ms Clarke has been made an MBE alongside her mother, Jenny, for their work setting up a brain injury charity after the 37-year-old herself suffered two haemorrhages.
Belfast star James Martin, the first actor with Down’s Syndrome to win an Oscar, and Paul Hollywood, the Great British Bake Off chef, have also both been made MBEs.
Elsewhere Sir Michael Eavis, the Glastonbury Festival founder, has been knighted, while Tony Blackburn and Steve Wright, the veteran broadcasters, have been made an OBE and MBE, respectively. Leona Lewis, the British singer-songwriter who is based in California, is made an OBE in the overseas list.
Authors Alexander McCall Smith, the creator of The No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, Charlie Mackesy, who wrote The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse, and Kate Mosse, who co-founded The Women’s Prize for Fiction, are also recognised.
Sir Alexander has been knighted, Ms Mosse is made a CBE, and Ms Mackesy is made an OBE.
The biggest accolade goes to Dame Shirley Bassey, the phenomenally successful Welsh singer, famous for hits including James Bond themes Goldfinger and Diamonds Are Forever.
She is made Companion of Honour for her services to music, becoming the 64th living member of the order.
The 86-year-old said she was “truly humbled” by the honour.
“Music has been a constant companion in my life. As a little girl growing up in Tiger Bay, I would dream of travelling the world and never imagined that one day, my voice would take me to where I am now,” she said.
Having accepted her OBE in 2004, Dame Jilly went on to be made a CBE in the 2018 New Year Honours list, which has now been upgraded to a Damehood of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for 2024.
‘Incredibly bowled over’
In a statement about her new award, she said: “I am absolutely and incredibly bowled over. I cannot believe I am a DBE, which in my case also stands for Delighted, Bewildered and Ecstatic!”
The author has previously said she is “thrilled to bits” that Mr Sunak enjoys her novels.
In May, the Prime Minister said it was “unclear how” his love of the books emerged, but that he was now hooked. He joked that his biggest regret was that he had to discuss his passion for the racy stories.
He described himself as a “genuine fan”, adding: “You need to have escapism in your life and that is a good thing. You need to be able to get away from the day to day, whether it is books or TV.”
All honours go through an independent selection process. While ministers are allowed to suggest names, they cannot order their departments to nominate anybody. If they wish to make a recommendation themselves, they would need to do so in their capacity as a constituency MP or private citizen.
Born in Hornchurch, Essex in 1937, Dame Jilly grew up in Yorkshire and attended the private Godolphin School in Salisbury.
Her father was a brigadier and her family moved to London in the 1950s, where she became a reporter on the Middlesex Independent at the age of 20.
She then moved to public relations, and has said she was sacked from 22 jobs before ending up in publishing. Her books have sold over 11 million copies in the UK, according to her website.
Dame Jilly has also long been a patron of animal charities, and spearheaded the Animals In War Memorial Fund in 1998. Elsewhere, she has been listed as a patron for Compassion in World Farming, the Racehorse Sanctuary and Rehoming Centre and Secret World Wildlife Rescue.
