Jeffrey Donaldson stripped of knighthood by King Charles after convictions

Former Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson was convicted in June 2024 of 18 child sexual‑abuse offences, including rape, at Newry Crown Court in Northern Ireland. Following the verdict, Donaldson wrote to resign from the Privy Council and asked that his 2016 knighthood be forfeited. King Charles III instructed the cancellation of the honour, and a notice confirming the revocation was published in The Gazette by the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood.

Donaldson, who served as an MP from 1997 to 2024, remains on remand at Maghaberry Prison awaiting sentencing, expected in September. His appeal papers were lodged with the Court of Appeal in Belfast. His wife, Eleanor Donaldson, was found to have aided the offences but could not be convicted in the usual way.

The revocation marks a rare royal action to annul a knighthood after a holder is deemed to have brought the honours system into disrepute.