King Charles III has directed the cancellation and annulment of the knighthood conferred upon Jeffrey Donaldson, the former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). The notice, published on Thursday in The Gazette, one of the United Kingdom's official journals of record, stated that the King had made the directive.
Donaldson, who served as a Member of Parliament from 1997 until 2024, was convicted in June on 18 counts of sex abuse, including one count of rape. These offenses were committed against two women when they were children. In the wake of his conviction, Donaldson had requested to be removed from the Privy Council and for his knighthood to be forfeited.
He was awarded the knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours list in 2016. Donaldson was previously removed from the Privy Council, which advises the monarch, earlier in July.