Winslet and Branagh Among Those Honored by Queen The film stars Kate Winslet and Kenneth Branagh as well as the architect Zaha Hadid and the songwriter Richard Stilgoe were among the Britons honored for their contributions to the arts this weekend by Queen Elizabeth II. They were named Commanders of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honors List along with hundreds of others who received a variety of awards for their work, The Associated Press reported. "When I was a kid, I dreamed of pulling on a shirt for the Northern Ireland football team," Mr. Branagh, who was born in Belfast, said. I could only imagine how proud you might feel. Today it feels like they just gave me the shirt, and my heart's fit to burst. Ms. Hadid designed the Aquatic Center for the 2012 London Olympics, while Mr. Stilgoe is best known for writing the lyrics for "Cats," "Starlight Express" and "The Phantom of the Opera." Ms. Winslet, who won an Oscar in 2009 for her role as a Nazi guard in the 2009 film "The Reader" and starred as the shipwrecked Rose in "Titanic," said, "I am both surprised and honored to stand alongside so many men and women who have achieved great things for our country." Also honored, as Officers of the Order of the British Empire, were Sarah Burton, the designer of Kate Middleton's royal wedding dress; Gary Barlow, who organized the Queen's Diamond Jubilee concert; and Armando Iannucci, the writer and producer of the British political satire "The Thick of It" and the new HBO series "Veep" starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The actress and activist April Ashley, one of the first Britons to undergo sex-change surgery, was also named an Officer "for services to transgender equality." Although the Queen bestows the honors, the government and public nominate candidates, and civil servants select the winners.