On her appointment to the High Court in 1965, Lane was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, the customary honour for High Court judges.
Upon her appointment to the High Court in 1965, Elizabeth Lane was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). This honour was customarily bestowed upon High Court judges, equivalent to the knighthood traditionally granted to male judges upon their elevation to the bench — in Lane's case, formally recognising her status as one of the most senior judicial figures in the country.
The conferral of the DBE alongside her judicial appointment underscored the historic and symbolic weight of her achievement as the first woman to reach the High Court. It was not merely a personal honour but an institutional acknowledgment that women had, at last, arrived at the pinnacle of the English legal system.
Thereafter known as Dame Elizabeth Lane, she carried this title through the remainder of her distinguished career, including her chairmanship of the Committee on the Abortion Acts and her continued service on the High Court bench until her retirement in 1979.
While the exact day of investiture is not documented in accessible sources, the year and the direct connection between her honour and her High Court appointment are well corroborated by encyclopedic and biographical sources.