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Former Chief Justice the Honourable Sir Anthony Smellie, KC, was formally invested as Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (KCMG) by King Charles III in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on 25 October 2023.

Sir Anthony’s knighthood for services to Law and Justice in the Cayman Islands and the Caribbean had been previously announced in the June 2022 Queen’s Birthday Honours. In that announcement, the then-Governor of the Cayman Islands, HE Martyn Roper, said Sir Anthony was being “recognised for his outstanding service to the Cayman Islands over the last four decades, including over 20 years as Chief Justice.”

On his retirement in October 2022, Sir Anthony had served for nearly 30 years in the Judicial Administration of the Cayman Islands, just short of 25 as Chief Justice, in addition to some 16 prior years in the legal services of the governments of the Cayman Islands and Jamaica. 

Commenting on his October 2023 investiture, Sir Anthony said: “Having been granted this great honour by Her late Majesty the Queen in June 2022 for my work in the administration of justice in the Cayman Islands and the Caribbean Region, I felt it a duty to inform the Cayman public about the investiture.”

In exchanges with the King, in addition to his kind congratulatory remarks and good wishes for Sir Anthony and his family, “the King had expressed fond recollections of his visit to the Islands as Prince of Wales in 2019, accompanied by Queen Camilla, then the Duchess of Cornwall,” Sir Anthony said.

Sir Anthony was accompanied at the investiture by Lady Jacqueline Smellie, daughters Leigh Smellie O'Connor and Samantha Smellie and son Jonathan Smellie.

In the June 2022 Birthday Honours release, then-Governor Roper had remarked: “The quality and impact of [Sir Anthony’s] legal judgments and his commitment to justice have made an exceptional contribution towards building the Cayman Islands’ strong reputation for good governance as a highly respected legal jurisdiction underpinning a major financial services centre of great importance to the local economy.

“His current service on the Court of Appeal of Bermuda and past service as Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions for Jamaica are also recognized.”