by Linda Straker
- Joan Purcell, former NDC political leader, should now be referred to as Dame Joan Purcell
- Agnes Dorothy Lessey awarded MBE for services to Community
- BEM awarded to Elizabeth Forsyth for services to Education, and to Gerard Bethel for services to Entrepreneurship in Fishing Industry
Joan Purcell, who was political leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 1999 general election, has been honoured with the title of Dame Commander by King Charles III. She should now be referred to as Dame Joan Purcell.
She is one of 4 Grenadians honoured by the King on his 2024 Birthday Honours List. The honour is given for a pre-eminent contribution in any field of activity. She is honoured for her services to Government and Community.
The other citizens honoured are Agnes Dorothy Lessey who is receiving a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to Community, while the British Empire Medal (BEM) was awarded to Elizabeth Forsyth for services to Education, and to Gerard Bethel for services to Entrepreneurship in the Fishing Industry.
The names were first published in the 14 June edition of the London Gazette and then published in an extraordinary edition of the Government of Grenada Gazette dated 17 June.
The King’s Official Birthday is the selected day in most Commonwealth countries on which the birthday of the Monarch is officially celebrated. It does not necessarily correspond to the date of the monarch’s actual birth. For 2024, it was observed on Saturday, 15 June, and in Grenada, there was a reception hosted by the Governor-General Dame Cécile La Grenade.
Purcell is the second former political leader to be honoured by His Majesty during the Dickon Mitchell administration which was voted into office in June 2022. Tillman Thomas, who served as the former political leader of the NDC from 2000 to 2013, was honoured on the King’s 2023 Birthday Honours List.
A member of the Commonwealth Realms, Grenada, as a former colony of England, continues to have citizens honoured by the King for outstanding services because he sits at the apex of Grenada’s honours system.
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