Olivia Colman poses with her Oscar as she attends the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party following the 91st Academy Awards at Beverly Hills on February 24. Photo: IC

Oscar-winning actress Olivia Colman, who will play Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown, was honored by the monarch on Saturday for her services to British drama.

Colman, 45, was awarded the CBE by the sovereign to mark her 93rd birthday, which is officially celebrated in Britain on the second Saturday in June.

Colman headed a list of stars - and everyday heroes - made commanders (CBE), officers (OBE) or regular members (MBE) of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, the main order of chivalry.

"I'm totally thrilled, delighted and humbled to be in the company of these incredible people, most of whom have been nowhere near as visible as I have, but should be - and hopefully now will be," she said.

Colman won this year's best actress Academy Award for her role as Queen Anne in The Favourite and will next portray Queen Elizabeth in season three of The Crown.

"I find the harder is Queen Elizabeth because everyone knows what she looks like, everyone knows what she sounds like," she said.

"I am loving trying to play her."

TV adventurer Bear Grylls, who also leads the Scouts in Britain, was made an OBE for his services to young people.

Author Lee Child, whose action hero Jack Reacher has been played on screen by Tom Cruise, received the CBE, as did fellow novelist Joanna Trollope.

Sarah Waters, famed for her raunchy novels featuring lesbian protagonists, including Tipping The Velvet, was made an OBE.

In the world of music, singers Elvis Costello and Feargal Sharkey were both given the OBE, accepting establishment endorsements far from their punk roots.

Songwriter Mitch Murray received the CBE. 

He penned UK number one hits including "How Do You Do It?," "I Like It" and "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde," along with US number ones "I'm Telling You Now" and "The Night Chicago Died."

In sport, there were CBEs for former Manchester United chief executive David Gill and Philip Brook, the chairman of the All England Club which hosts the Wimbledon tennis championships.

Boyd Tunnock, 86, who in 1956 invented Scotland's cherished Tunnock's Teacake chocolate-coated marshmallow and biscuit snack, was knighted.

Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the Confederation of British Industry main business lobby group, was made a dame - the female equivalent of a knighthood.

Comedian and presenter Griff Rhys Jones received an OBE.

The British honours system rewards individuals' bravery, service or achievement in their field.

Nimco Ali and Doctor Leyla Hussein, who were both victims of female genital mutilation as children, were given OBEs for their efforts in combating the practice.

Seven Holocaust survivors received the British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to Holocaust education.

Some 1,073 people were on the birthday honors list, 75 percent of whom were rewarded for outstanding work in their local communities.

The oldest recipient was John Haymen, 100, while the youngest was 17-year-old Richard Collins. They both received the BEM for community services.


Newspaper headline: Jewel in ‘The Crown’