‘Downton Abbey’ season 5: Who is honoring Maggie Smith now?

One thing can certainly be said for Maggie Smith at this point in her career: Everyone seems to love her. Has there been an actress more routinely honored by anyone and everyone than she has? If there has, we want to know who it is!

Anyhow, this week the 79-year old actress, best known these days for playing the Dowager Countess Violet on “Downton Abbey,” was honored by Queen Elizabeth II, and made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honor to recognize her six decades of being a part of the entertainment industry. Over 20 years ago, she was first recognized by the Queen as a dame commander of the Order of the British Empire. This allowed her to be “Dame Maggie Smith,” and now if she really want to add a number of titles to her name, she could be “Dame Maggie Smith CH” to further show her prestige.

Smith is an actress very familiar with getting honors at the moment. She is a frequent recipient of Emmys, Golden Globes, and many other trophies for her roles. She was a fixture in the “Harry Potter” films, and had an extensive resume of decades’ hard work long before taking on any of these parts.

While we celebrate this honor for Maggie right now, there is still quite a bit of work and headlines ahead for her later this weekend. The next new episode of “Downton Abbey” will air on ITV, which will allow for an opportunity to learn more about her past. You can see some photos of it right now at the link here, and we’ll have some further news related to the show very soon, including a review tomorrow night.

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