King Charles Appoints Two Scots and a Baroness to Order of the Thistle and Usher Role

King Charles appointed Professor Sir Jim McDonald and Sir James MacMillan to the Order of the Thistle. The monarch selects members personally without government input. The order has 16 knights and ladies, including the Queen, The Princess Royal, the Duke of Rothesay and The Duke of Edinburgh.

Baroness Katherine Grainger was named Usher of the Green Rod at the same time. She is a Glasgow native and Britain's most successful female rower. Sir Jim McDonald spent more than three decades at the University of Strathclyde.

He held the Rolls-Royce chair in electrical power systems from 1993 and led the electronic and electrical engineering department from 2003. He served as principal and vice-chancellor from March 2009 until retirement in 2025. He was president of the Royal Academy of Engineering from 2019 to 2024 and the first Scottish president in that body's history.

The Crown awarded him a knighthood in 2012 and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire in 2024. Sir James MacMillan, from Ayrshire, is one of Britain's leading composers. ' performed at the late Queen's funeral in 2022.

He received a knighthood in the 2015 Queen's Birthday honours and the King's Medal for Music in 2026. Baroness Grainger won Olympic gold in the double sculls at London 2012 with Anna Watkins. She collected medals at four consecutive Games.

She was made CBE in the 2013 New Year Honours and holds a doctorate from King's College London on homicide sentencing after studying law and medical ethics.