CLAIRE HORTON is honoured for her services to animal welfare at a palace investiture
HONOURED FOR HER SERVICES TO ANIMALS
For more than a decade, she has dedicated her time to rescue animals at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in South London, helping it develop into a national treasure. And last week, Claire Horton was awarded a CBE for this work by the Princess Royal in a ceremony at St James’s Palace. “I got very emotional,” she told hello!. “I felt this surge of pride.”
But Battersea’s honorary vice president, who left her chief executive role in January after 11 years, insists the award is not all hers: “This has to be for everybody at Battersea and for all the animal welfare colleagues.” With over 30 years in the voluntary sector, the mum of one helped shape Battersea and, with a stellar team around her, its profile rose, and support – including a glittering roster of ambassadors such as Amanda Holden, Tom Hardy and Paul O’Grady – flourished, enabling staff to care for and re-home more animals; including her own Battersea rescue dog, Archie, who naughtily ate her CBE scroll upon its arrival in her postbox.
Cl a ire’ s passion radiates as she recalls her favourite Battersea memories: among some wonderful colleagues and influencing changes to law (“We’re delighted sentences for animal cruelty have finally been raised from six months to five years”), one that stands out is rehousing Larry, now known as the Downing Street cat, in 2011.
PRIME DELIVERY
“[I was] delivering this cat to Downing Street… David Cameron came rushing at me with a photo on his phone of a mouse. He said: ‘You see this mouse? It ran across my kitchen last night. So, this cat better work hard when he comes here.’”
Battersea’s patron is the Duchess of Cornwall, who Claire describes as a “real champion”. “When it comes to animals [ and] welfare, she knows everything there is to know,” Claire says, adding Camilla is “huge fun”: “She always wants to do things that are a little bit different. That give people joy.”