Former Premier Alden McLaughlin has been formally knighted by King Charles III in an investiture ceremony held Tuesday at Windsor Castle.
McLaughlin, a Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, is the second Caymanian to be knighted; Sir Vassel Johnson received the honour in 1994.
The MP for Red Bay was among the last to receive a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in 2021, as part of her final New Year Honours list.
McLaughlin, 61, was accompanied to London by his wife Kim, sons Daegan and Caelan, and sisters Elizabeth McLaughlin and Debra McLaughlin.
In addition, Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart was on hand for the celebratory dinner in London.
“Delighted to celebrate this evening with Sir Alden and Lady Kim McLaughlin on the occasion of his investiture as a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George today at Windsor Castle,” McTaggart tweeted from his official Twitter page Tuesday night.
Governor Martyn Roper, announcing McLaughlin’s knighthood in 2021, said it was “an outstanding personal achievement for former Premier McLaughlin, one of the most important and impactful political leaders in Cayman over the last 21 years. It is a significant moment for our islands. This historic award is only the second ever Knighthood to a Caymanian since the first in the 1990s.”
McLaughlin, Cayman’s first premier to serve two consecutive terms, was also instrumental in securing the Island’s Constitution Order in 2009 as well as the subsequent changes in 2019, which included renaming the Legislative Assembly as House of Parliament.
In that same honours list, former legislator Lucille Seymour (for services to sport, education and the people of the Cayman Islands) and Sharon Smith (for services to the former Legislative Assembly of the Cayman Islands) both received Member of the Order of the British Empire. Natalie Coleman (for services to arts and culture in the Cayman Islands and wider region) received a British Empire Medal.
Seymour was also in London for the event, as were McLaughlin’s Opposition colleagues David Wight and Barbara Conolly.
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