The mother of a teenage motorcyclist killed by a US citizen in 2019 has been honoured for her campaigning efforts on road safety following her son’s death.
Charlotte Charles, the mother of 19-year-old Harry Dunn, has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle.
Harry was killed when a Volvo driven by then-US State Department employee Anne Sacoolas hit him while on the wrong side of the road outside Royal Air Force Croughton in Northamptonshire.
Sacoolas left the UK 19 days after the incident, as the US government had asserted diplomatic immunity on her behalf, claiming she was the wife of a diplomat.
She eventually pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving via video link in October 2022 and later received an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.
Ms Charles, alongside Harry’s father Tim Dunn, has been campaigning for justice for several years.
She was named in the King’s Birthday Honours list and has met with US President Donald Trump at the White House.
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“To be honoured and recognised feels a little bit surreal because I was just doing what I desperately needed to do at the time – which was to try and secure safety and a better understanding of everything that we had been going through,” she said after she was named in the King’s honours list.
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Those honoured at Wednesday’s ceremony also included Sir Matthew Vaughn, the filmmaker known for Layer Cake, Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class, and the Kingsman series.
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He received a knighthood for his contributions to the creative industries as part of former prime minister Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours list.
Engineer Dr Peter Musgrove was also recognised and appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire, an honour awarded for prominent contributions to the arts, sciences, public service, and other fields.
