The head of a peace-building organisation who helped to bring about the historic handshake between the late Queen Elizabeth and former IRA commander Martin McGuinness, is to be made a CBE.

Former PSNI officer Peter Sheridan, the chief executive of Co-operation Ireland, is among a number of Northern Irish citizens being recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours.

Mr Sheridan told the PA news agency that he was humbled by the honour, which is for services to peace-building.

The highest awards went to Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and Booker Prize-winning novelist Ian McEwan, who were made Companions of Honour alongside Prof Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at the University of Oxford.

Five members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) have also been listed. Three have been awarded a King’s Police Medal (KPM), one a British Empire Medal (BEM) and one has been given the title of Member of the British Empire (MBE).

Detective Superintendent Ewan Anderson who has nearly 30 years’ service in the PSNI became an MBE.

KPMs were awarded to Chief Superintendent Darrin Jones, Superintendent Kellie McMillan and Constable Valerie Robinson and the BEM was awarded to a retired PSNI member.

The Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast, Ian Greer, has said he was “deeply humbled” to be knighted in the King’s first Birthday Honours.

Sir Ian said it was a proud day both for himself and for the university, which recently hosted a major conference to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

He has been recognised for services to education and the economy in Northern Ireland.

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Singer Peter Corry as well as Northern Ireland international footballer Jonny Evans are made MBEs. Capped 100 times by Northern Ireland, Evans said he was “very proud, especially when I saw that it was in recognition of my contribution to association football in Northern Ireland”.

Michaela Hollywood, 33, from Co Down, who lives with a genetic condition called spinal muscular atrophy which limits her mobility, will be made an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours for services to people with disabilities along with victims’ campaigner Margaret McGuckin who also becomes an MBE.

Ms Hollywood’s passion for improving the world for those with disabilities was lit when she was just five after experiencing access issues at a cinema.

The role that Hillsborough Castle played as the focal point of Northern Ireland commemorations following the death of the Queen last year is also recognised.

Laura McCorry, head of the castle, as well as head gardener Claire Woods, will become MBEs.

Footballer Ian Wright, fashion editor Dame Anna Wintour and author Ian McEwan are among the famous faces noted.

Anna Wintour, who has been editor of Vogue U.S. since 1988, is one of the most powerful people in the fashion world and a philanthropist who has raised more than $300 million for the U.S. Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.

Ian McEwan, who was appointed to the order for services to literature, is the author of acclaimed novels including “Amsterdam”, “Atonement” and “Enduring Love”.

McEwan said he was “delighted”, comparing it to “a really good review”.

“I’m now entering my 54th year of writing fiction. As all dedicated writers know, a literary life is not a career so much as a way of being. The task in hand, the novel one is trying to create, is always there, a constant and intimate companion,” he added.

The late Martin Amis, whose influential and innovative novels include Money, London Fields, and Time’s Arrow, is knighted, with the award dated 18 May, the day before his death last month aged 73, as honours cannot be given posthumously.

Bell’s three-decade-long mission to build vaccines research capability at the University of Oxford, where he is Regius Professor of Medicine, was vital to the development of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, the government said.

More than 1,000 people were rewarded in the king’s birthday honours for service in education, healthcare, philanthropy and other areas.

King Charles, who was crowned in May, will celebrate his official birthday on Saturday with the “Trooping of the Colour” military parade.

The 74-year-old monarch’s real birthday is on November 14th.

In the showbiz world, Line Of Duty actress Vicky McClure, television presenter Davina McCall and veteran broadcaster Ken Bruce were made MBEs.

In sport, the footballer-turned TV pundit Ian Wright is made an OBE. Two stars of wheelchair tennis, Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid, are rewarded with OBEs. The former Chelsea and England forward Eniola Aluko, who won 102 caps for the Lionesses during her playing career, is made an MBE.

Politicians recognised include the Labour MP and former minister Ben Bradshaw, who is knighted. The Conservative MPs Robert Blackman and John Baron both receive CBEs, while the Conservative MPs Heather Wheeler and Damian Collins are made OBEs.

The MI6 chief, Richard Moore, is knighted for services to the UK overseas. As is Dr John Chipman, the DG and CEO of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Alex Chisholm, the permanent secretary of the Cabinet Office, is knighted. Sir Simon Gass, the chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee, is made a knight grand cross of the order of St Michael and St George.

The oldest recipient is 106-year-old Joan Willett, who was given a British Empire medal (BEM) for her charitable fundraising for the British Heart Foundation.

Of those recognised, half are women, 11 per cent come from a minority ethnic background, 13 per cent are disabled or have a long-term health condition, and 23 per cent consider themselves to come from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. – PA