King's Birthday Honours 2026: Two Peterborough foster carers honoured for work with children and young people

Stephen Greene (63) and Maureen (62) have each been awarded the MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List for their services to foster care over the last three decades.

The couple, who live in Hampton, and who began fostering in 1993, said they were overwhelmed and honoured to be chosen to receive the royal honour.

Maureen said: “It is wonderful and I hope that it helps push fostering on behalf of the local authority to the forefront of people’s minds.”

Stephen said: “We are honoured to receive the award. I did wonder at first if it was a joke.

The award has also been given for the couple’s commitment to raising the profile of fostering in the area.

The nomination for the honour states: “Their legacy is defined by transformation, advocacy, and enduring relationships, creating homes where children feel unconditionally loved, valued, and truly part of a family.”

They are recognised as having given many children the chance to experience a wonderful home and a family where they are loved and cared about unconditionally.

The couple, who have a son Daniel and five grandchildren, combined their roles as foster carers with careers with Stephen working for supermarket giant Sainsbury’s for 40 years and Maureen as a social inclusion teaching assistant at a primary school

Maureen said: “We have cared for children from all backgrounds.

"We are still in touch with quite a few of them.

They said: “We have definitely got more out of foster caring than we have put in.

"It is great to see the children go on and achieve so much. It really is about offering them choices so that they can make their own way in life.”

The children fostered by Stephen and Maureen have gone on to achieve success in education, employment, the armed forces and higher education.

The couple are recognised as having created ‘a large, blended extended family who remain closely connected’ and.as being ‘highly supportive’ of the fostering community with Stephen taking on the role of Chair of the fostering committee, in which he advocated for carers with ‘patience and diplomacy’.

They also actively assist the fostering service with recruitment, providing an authentic, positive view of the fostering experience to prospective carers.