Spouses and Partners of Gay Knights May Get Honorary Titles

Sir Elton John with his partner David Furnish and their son Zachary

Spouses and partners of gay knights and dames may get honorary titles like the wives of straight men under a new bill introduced to British Parliament, according to the Daily Mail.

Currently, wives of sirs and lords are dubbed ladies, but partners of gay knights and dames receive no such recognition.

His Honours (Equality of Titles for Partners) Bill will be introduced to the House of Commons on Tuesday by Tory Member of Parliament Oliver Colville. The policy would also confer titles on husbands of dames.

“The current system is uneven and rather outdated,” Colville told The Sunday Times (London).

Former Labour minister Angela Eagle, who is also in a civil partnership, agreed with Colville.

“I’m not a great fan of the honours system but, if you are going to have one, it ought to confer equal honours on everyone who is awarded one,” she told the Times.

Notable Brits who would be affected by the change include Sir Elton John’s partner David Furnish; Sir Ian McKellen; Mark Bolland, Prince Charles’ former deputy private secretary, and his partner Tory peer Lord Black of Brentford; and Lord Smith of Finsbury, one of the first openly gay members of Parliament, and his partner Dorian Jabri.