- Queen Elizabeth attends Queen Elizabeth with all smiles.
- The George Cross is the highest civilian order that the king or queen can grant.
- Frontline workers were awarded the award for their service during the coronavirus outbreak.
The Queen has not personally knighted a knight since 2020, when she knighted Captain Sir Thomas Moore for raising $40 million for charity.
Frontline workers and National Health Efforts leaders were invited by the Queen to Windsor Castle on Tuesday, where they were awarded the George Cross in recognition of their service during the coronavirus outbreak.
In September 1940, at the height of the Blitz, King George VI established the George Cross to honour “acts of the greatest heroism or the most daring in times of grave danger.” It is the highest civilian order that the king or queen can grant.
Although members of the royal family have hosted investiture ceremonies on behalf of the Queen, the monarch herself has not personally handed out honors since 2020, when she knighted Captain Sir Thomas Moore for raising more than $40 million for the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS) amid the coronavirus lockdown by walking 100 laps in his backyard garden.
