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PRCA Management Board Chair, Kirsty Leighton, awarded an MBE
Kirsty Leighton, Chair of the PRCA Management Board and Founder of Milk & Honey PR | Certified B Corp has been awarded an MBE on the King's Birthday Honours 2026.
This is a thoroughly deserved recognition of Kirsty’s outstanding contribution to the communications industry and her continued leadership, commitment, and service.
Everyone at the PRCA is incredibly proud to see Kirsty recognised in this way, and we are delighted to celebrate this achievement with her.
Kirsty commented:
"Receiving an MBE in His Majesty The King's Birthday Honours is one of the most humbling moments of my career.
"Thirty years is a long time to be doing anything. But public relations chose me as much as I chose it, and I have never once taken for granted the privilege of building a business, a team, and a body of work in this extraordinary industry. This recognition belongs to every person who has worked alongside me at Milk & Honey PR and Hive PR Group our parent company, past and present, and to the clients who trusted us to stand up for what they believe in.
"To be awarded this honour so soon after receiving the King's Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development feels almost surreal. It is a reminder that doing business with purpose is not just the right thing to do; it is increasingly recognised as the foundation of lasting value.
"I am proud to serve as Chair of the PRCA alongside CEO Sarah Waddington CBE CDir ChartPR, who I believe is one of the most important people in British PR. Together, we are the first all-female leadership team in the association's 55-year history, and that fact matters. Not for us personally, but for every woman earlier in her career who needs to see what is possible.
"Public relations shapes how organisations are understood, trusted, and held to account. It has never been more consequential. I hope this honour reflects not just what I have tried to do, but what our whole profession is capable of, and the extraordinary people within it who do it every single day."
