Former College Parent becomes Dame in Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Solicitor Elizabeth Gardiner who helped draft the Government's coronavirus pandemic legislation has been made a Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath (DCB) in the Queen's Birthday Honours. This follows her appointment as a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2013 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Dame Elizabeth, a College Parent from 2004-16 lives in Manuden and was the first ever woman to be appointed to her current post of First Parliamentary Counsel when she landed the job in November 2015. She is now one of the country's leading civil servants. She was made a Dame for her services to government and the legislative process having played a key role in drafting the Government’s coronavirus pandemic legislation with her work over recent years being dominated by preparations for the exit from the European Union.

Speaking to the Bishop’s Stortford Independent newspaper she said: "It was a lovely surprise, although I'm still getting used to the idea! It is obviously a huge honour to have my work recognised in this way. I work with a fantastic team of fellow civil servants who really care about the quality of our law, and I hope they all feel a bit of a share in this honour."

To read more about Elizabeth’s journey from her birthplace in Caithness Thurso, Scotland to studying Law at the University of Edinburgh and then joining the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel in 1991 before moving to Manuden in 2007 please click here.

All at the College send heartfelt congratulations on the receipt of such a prestigious award and wish Dame Elizabeth Gardiner continued success in her outstanding career.