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His Majesty The King has been graciously pleased to appoint two new members to the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle:

Professor Sir James (Jim) McDonald GBE FREng FRSE and Sir James MacMillan CBE. The appointments are effective from 21st May 2026.

The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle represents the highest honour in Scotland. Revived by James VII King of Scots, the Order has a complement of 16 Knights (KT) and Ladies (LT).

In addition, His Majesty The King has been graciously pleased to appoint The Baroness Grainger DBE to be the Usher of the Green Rod, one of the Officers of the Order of the Thistle.

Background

The King is Sovereign of the Order, and appointments to the Order of the Thistle are entirely in the personal gift of His Majesty (i.e. without prime ministerial advice). In addition to the 16 Knights and Ladies, the Queen, the Princess Royal, the Duke of Rothesay (the Scottish title of the Prince of Wales) and the Duke of Edinburgh are Royal Knights of the Thistle.

In 1987, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II decided that women should be eligible for the Thistle in the same way as men.

Professor Sir James (Jim) McDonald GBE FREng FRSE

Professor Sir Jim McDonald is one of Scotland's most distinguished engineers and university leaders. A Glaswegian by birth – his family were Clydeside shipbuilding workers - he studied electrical engineering at the University of Strathclyde, graduating with a BSc in 1978, before completing an MSc in electrical power engineering and PhD in power system economics.

Appointed to the Rolls-Royce Chair in Electrical Power Systems in 1993, he became Head of the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering in 2003, and Deputy Principal for Research in 2006. In March 2009 he was appointed Principal and Vice-Chancellor, a position he held until his retirement in August 2025. He served as President of the Royal Academy of Engineering from 2019 to 2024, the first Scot to hold that office.

He has been a consistent champion of widening access to higher education with Strathclyde having become a leading institution in that endeavour. In related roles, he was Chair of the Glasgow Science Centre, inaugural Chair of the Scottish Power Foundation and is Chair of both the Allt Dearg Educational Trust and Enginuity, the UK’s leading manufacturing and engineering skills organisation. He was knighted in 2012 for services to education, engineering and the economy, and appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in 2024. He holds Fellowships of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and of several international engineering Academies. He holds a number of honorary degrees from national and international universities. In 2024 he was inducted into the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame; in 2025 he received the City of Glasgow's Loving Cup for distinguished service.

Sir James MacMillan CBE

Born and raised in Ayrshire, James MacMillan is one of the today’s most performed composers, with his work performed all over the world by the great international orchestras, ensembles, choirs, soloists and conductors. He is also a conductor with an international performing career.

He has long been committed to the musical life of Scotland and has close relationships with all the major music organisations in his home country. He maintains an academic career as a Visiting Professor at the University of St Andrews and at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

The annual award-winning Cumnock Tryst festival was founded by the composer in 2014 in his childhood town in East Ayrshire.

James MacMillan was awarded a Knighthood in the 2015 Queen's Birthday honours and his anthem ‘Who Shall Separate Us?’ was commissioned for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

Royal Communications announced on 3rd March 2026 that His Majesty has approved the award of The King’s Gold Medal for Music to James MacMillan, who currently has roles as composer-in-residence with both the Dresden Philharmonic and Hallé Orchestras. His recent work ‘Angels Unawares’ was premiered in the Sistine Chapel, Rome, in March.

(Royal Communications)