King Charles strips disgraced Stuart Hogg of MBE after domestic abuse conviction
Stuart Hogg pleaded guilty to a single charge of domestic abuse of his ex-wife, Gillian, with the former Scotland rugby union captain sentenced to a community payback order
Stuart Hogg is now no longer an MBE(Image: David Rogers, Getty Images)
Stuart Hogg has officially lost his MBE after King Charles III directed that it be “cancelled and annulled”. The former Scotland rugby union captain pleaded guilty to a single count of domestic abuse of his ex-wife, Gillian Smith, over a five-year period in November 2024.
The court heard him confess to shouting and swearing at his former spouse. Hogg also admitted to monitoring her movements and sending messages that were alarming and distressing.
He avoided prison but was handed a community payback order (CPO) with one year of supervision. Hogg was also prohibited from approaching or contacting Gillian for five years.
Following his conviction, there were widespread demands for the former British & Irish Lion to lose the MBE he received in the 2024 New Year Honours list for services to rugby. Scottish First Minister John Swinney described such calls as “reasonable and understandable”.
At the time, the SNP’s Commons leader Stephen Flynn stated that officials were “firmly on the case” of revoking the honour. However, over a year after his conviction, he still held the award.
Glasgow Women’s Aid labelled the honour still remaining upon him “deeply troubling” earlier this year. However, Hogg is now officially stripped of his MBE.
Stuart Hogg still plays for Montpellier, but remains retired from international rugby(Image: GABRIEL BOUYS, AFP via Getty Images)
A formal announcement appeared in The Gazette on Thursday. It lists his name among those whose honours have also been revoked.
The notice states: “The King has directed that the appointment of Stuart William Hogg to be a Member of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, dated 30 December 2023, shall be cancelled and annulled and that his name shall be erased from the Register of the said Order.”
It follows Hogg’s admission about having no future in Scottish rugby. The full-back made those remarks in light of his off-field behaviour in recent years.
Hogg, however, believes that he could still contribute to the current Scotland squad. He said in a translated interview with French outlet Actu Rugby: “I’ve retired completely from international rugby.
“I’ve always said that if I felt I could be of use to Scotland, then I would be, but I haven’t had any communication from anyone within Scottish rugby, and I doubt that will ever change With everything that’s happened to me off the field over the last two years, there’s no chance that Scottish rugby wants anything to do with me.
“Do I believe I could still be useful to this Scotland team? Yes, 100%.”
Source: https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/king-charles-stuart-hogg-mbe-36824226#comments-wrapper
