SIR Thomas Dunne KCVO, Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire, has been made a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter.

The appointment puts Sir Thomas, of Gatley Park, Leinthall Earls, among the holders of Britain’s oldest order of chivalry - established in 1348.

Confirmation of the honour, membership of which is extremely limited and granted only by the monarch alone, came this morning.

Sir Thomas has been Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire since 1998. From 1977 to 1998 he served as Lord Lieutenant of Hereford and Worcester.