Sarah Jane Evans MW has been awarded The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic, a Spanish civil order of honour granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to Spain or the promotion of international relations and cooperation with other nations.
“It is a pleasure to bestow the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Isabel la Católica to Sarah Jane Evans,” commented Ambassador of Spain to the UK, Mr. José Pascual Marco. “Her long-standing and contagious love for Spain and Spanish wines, which dates back to her time a student at the University of Cambridge, has led her to chair the Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino, an organisation that has greatly helped raise the knowledge of the diversity and high quality of Spanish wines in the UK market”.
The decoration is granted by the King of Spain and the Grand Chancellor, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Order was created in 1815 by King Ferdinand VII in honour of Queen Isabel I and is open to both Spaniards and foreigners with the intent of “rewarding the firm allegiance to Spain and the merits of Spanish citizens and foreigners in good standing with the Nation.”
The Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino was founded in 1984 and is supported by ICEX Spain Trade and Investment with the object of giving recognition to those persons in the UK who have shown exceptional endeavor in promoting the quality wines of Spain.
“It is an immense privilege to receive this decoration,” says Sarah Jane Evans MW. “I’m really touched, and even a little overwhelmed. I’d like to thank H.E. The Ambassador of Spain to the UK & Ireland Mr. José Pascual Marco for bestowing this honour on me. Additionally, my heartfelt thanks also to all those who have helped me in my career in Spain and the UK.”