Since the 1930s, the Governor of Texas has bestowed the honour of Honorary Texan upon any person who, in his or her opinion, is worthy of the qualities of the Lone Star State but has not had the good fortune to be counted among its citizens.

The award of Honorary Texan has frequently been bestowed by the Governor on foreign visitors to Texas and for foreigners who have provided assistance to Texas businesses doing business in a foreign country. Another category of recipients is children of native Texans when those children have been born outside the boundaries of Texas. While the honour is understood no longer to be bestowed on foreign nationals today, two notable British recipients in the past few decades have been Lord Hague of Richmond (in 1999, when leader of the Conservative Party; he was quoted as saying “I might be persuaded to wear the boots, but I’m certainly not going to wear the hat”) and musician Phil Collins (in 2015).

I was delighted to be commissioned an Honorary Texan in 2014.