'Cracking day' at Windsor Castle as Nick de Bois collects CBE from Princess Royal
Tourism boss and Bishop’s Stortford resident Nick de Bois was invested as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by the Princess Royal at Windsor Castle.
After the ceremony on Tuesday (Feb 28), the radio and TV presenter told the Indie: “It was a memorable day for all the right reasons and one particularly delightful to share with some of the family.
“I was thrilled to receive the honour from the Princess Royal.”
The former Conservative MP-turned-author and broadcaster was recognised for his services to British tourism by the late Queen Elizabeth II in her Platinum Jubilee honours list.
A CBE is the highest-ranking order of the British Empire award, excluding a knighthood or damehood, and is awarded to individuals for having a prominent role at a national level or a leading role at a regional level.
Nick, 64, was appointed chairman of the British Tourist Authority (BTA) last November. Before that, he chaired the VisitEngland advisory board and had been a member of the BTA board since 2020. In 2016, he was appointed chairman of the Government's first UK Events Industry Board to boost tourism.
He spent much of 2021 leading a tourism industry review commissioned by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport.
After he was presented with his CBE by Princess Anne, Nick said: “I was very impressed how well versed she was with the challenges the tourism sector has faced during and post Covid, a discussion prompted of course by the citation accompanying the honour I was privileged to receive.”
He shared his “cracking day” at the castle with wife Helen and their daughters Laura and Jessica, who is a doctor.
Nick is best known to Indie readers for his appearances on TalkRADIO and TalkTV, where he shares his political insight on topical issues.
In 2010, he was elected Tory MP for Enfield North, unseating Labour's Joan Ryan having lost to her in the 2001 and 2005 General Elections. She regained the seat in 2015 and beat him again in 2017.
In 2018, Nick returned to Westminster, joining the Department for Exiting the European Union as chief of staff and special advisor to the then Secretary of State Dominic Raab.
In 2019, Nick, who lives near St Michael's Mead, was short-listed to be the Conservative candidate for the Hertford and Stortford seat in the December General Election but was beaten to the nomination by Julie Marson, whose family home is in Broadstairs, Kent, and has a flat in Sawbridgeworth.
His time in Parliament inspired him to write Confessions of a Recovering MP, described by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a must-read. His latest book, Fatal Ambition, is a thriller set in the halls of power which predicted the departure of Mr Johnson from 10 Downing Street.
