King's Birthday Honours List: Portsmouth's Penny Mordaunt “feeling very grateful” as damehood announced
Penny Mordaunt has expressed her gratitude after being named a Dame in the King’s Birthday Honours List.
The former Conservative MP for Portsmouth North served the constituency for 14 years and held a number of notable positions in government including Secretary of State for Defence and Leader of the House of Commons.
Dame Penny said: “It is lovely to be appreciated in this way, and I’m very conscious that everything I have ever got done has been with the help and efforts of others. So I’m feeling very grateful on many counts today.”
She became a national talking point for her role in King Charles III and Camilla’s coronation in 2023. She carried the sword of state and presented the Jewelled Sword of Offering in her role as Lord President of the Council, becoming the first woman to do so.
It became a viral moment with many captivated by the strength she showed in carrying the sword throughout the ceremony, as well as her striking custom made outfit.
In serving Portsmouth North for well over a decade, many constituents respected her work for local causes. The restoration of Hilsea Lido was a cause she championed, even donating her fee for appearing in the reality television series Splash! to the charity leading the project.
She was touted as a potential leader of the Conservative party but missed out to Liz Truss and then pulled out the race against Rishi Sunak.
Dame Penny lost out to Labour’s Amanda Martin in the 2024 general election by a narrow margin. After the defeat she declared she will “never stop caring for Portsmouth”.