Former children’s services director Helen Budge receives MBE

THE COUNCIL’s former director of children’s services Helen Budge recently attended an event in Edinburgh to receive her MBE honour.

She received the honour from The Princess Royal at an investiture at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Back in June last year Budge was included in the King’s Birthday Honours List to become a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to education.

She was accompanied by her daughters to the Palace, where a diverse range of military and civilian honours were presented at the same event.

Budge, who is also a deputy lord lieutenant for Shetland, said: “It was a great honour and privilege to meet The Princess Royal and I’m pleased that we had a short discussion about education in a remote, rural island local authority.

“I am very grateful to all the many people who worked alongside me during my career in education in Shetland, contributing to providing services to bairns and families.

“It was an amazing experience to attend the Investiture, made all the more special by my daughters being there too, and I am very humbled to have been recognised in this way for my career.”

In August Budge – who retired from the council in 2024 after 13 years in the children’s services director role – also received an honorary doctorate from the University of the Highlands and Islands.