A dozen more
T
herereallyis nothinglike
a dame.ourcoverstar
twiggy,69,realname
lesleylawson,whohas
beenatthetopofthe
modellingindustrysinceshewasthe
faceofthe1960s,wasawardeda
damehoodforservicestofashion,the
artsandcharityin theQueen’snew
year’sHonourslist.“I havebeenin
thebusinessnowforover 50 years
sotohavethishonouris a nice
feeling,”shesaid.
theceremonywasconductedby
thePrinceofWaleswhocongratulatedherandsaid,“It’sabouttimeyougot
this– we’reallthrilledforyou!”
otherluminariesincludeJulie
andrews,Helenmirren,JudiDench,
JulieWalters,margaretDrabble,
annaWintour,JoanCollins,mary
beardandDarceybussell.
Helenmirrenwasafraida
damehoodwould“setherapart”,Judi
Denchworriedshewouldhavetostart
behavingwell,andjournalistJenni
murraywasconcernedshemightbe
seenas“atraitortomyclass”.they
allgotoverit andsaidyes.butthose
whopolitelydeclinedincludeauthorDorislessing,actressandpolitician
GlendaJackson,actressGeraldine
mcewan,artistbridgetRileyand
actressVanessaRedgrave.
Criticsmightlabelthehonours
systemarchaicandcertainlyit has
notmovedwiththetimesin terms
ofequality.Whilea manreceiving
a knighthoodbecomes“sir”andhis
wife,“lady”,thepartnerofa dame
getsnothing.
evenso,there’snodoubtbecoming
a “DameCommander”is a huge
honour,sohereweproudlypresent
a dozenofourfavouritedames...dames
Withtwiggyjoiningthe proudrollcallofgreatbritishwomentoreceive
a damehood,wefindoutwhatit takes andwhoelse is in thisexclusiveclub
1
For services to charity
after a lifetime of success on
stage and screen – with some
very racy roles on her CV – Joan was
made a dame in 2015 in recognition of
her tireless work for charities, including
being a patron of the shooting star
Chase Children’s Hospices. “I never
really believed it would happen,”
said Joan, but when it did, she was
“elated and ecstatic” over her honour.