Tristram Hunt, the director of London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, has been knighted by King Charles, touchdown a spot on the UK’s 2026 New 12 months Honors checklist. Meaning Hunt can now formally go by “Sir.”
The previous MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central and ex–shadow schooling secretary was acknowledged for his “companies to museums,” in line with the UK authorities’s announcement. Hunt has led the V&A since 2017, the place he’s overseen a run of bold exhibitions and helped push the museum’s worldwide profile, most notably by way of the launch of V&A East.
The federal government additionally highlighted Hunt’s educational background. Earlier than transferring into museum management, he was a historian and senior lecturer at Queen Mary College of London, specializing in Victorian city historical past and political thought. Below his management, the V&A has expanded its attain and attracted new audiences, strengthening its function within the UK’s cultural panorama.
Hunt isn’t the one British arts determine to be acknowledged by the king this yr. Ekow Eshun, the previous director of London’s Institute of Up to date Arts, has been made an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire). Artwork historian Marcia Pointon, professor emerita on the College of Manchester, additionally obtained an OBE, as did Jo Quinton-Tulloch, director of the Nationwide Science and Media Museum in Bradford, and cultural heritage skilled Janet Blake.
Elsewhere on the checklist, Susan Bowers, director of the Pilgrim Belief, which works to protect the UK’s heritage, was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire). Hilary McGrady, director-general of the Nationwide Belief, obtained a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire).
The honors are awarded twice a yr: as soon as at New 12 months and once more in June to mark the monarch’s official birthday.
