knighthood – News Stories About knighthood - Page 1

Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas In for UK Honor

Mar 28, 2024 4:30 PM CDT

UK to Honor Oppenheimer Filmmakers

For their service to film, couple will receive a knighthood and a damehood

(Newser) - The Academy Awards that Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas collected this month were for their work on Oppenheimer, but the filmmakers are to receive a more sweeping honor from the nation of their birth. The UK plans to bestow a knighthood on Nolan and a damehood on Thomas, the BBC...

Boris Johnson Wants His Father Knighted. Not Everyone Does

Boris Johnson Wants Everyone
to Address His Father as 'Sir'

Mar 6, 2023 4:16 PM CST

Boris Johnson Wants Everyone to Address His Father as 'Sir'

Opposition leaders consider the knighthood nomination a mockery

(Newser) - Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has nominated about 100 people for UK honors, but one name in particular drew attention. The ex-leader of the Conservative Party has put up Stanley Johnson, his father, for a knighthood, the Times reports. The news was not met with universal praise. "You only...

This Astrophysicist
(and Guitarist)
Is Now a 'Sir'

Dec 31, 2022 9:31 AM CST

This Astrophysicist (and Guitarist) Is Now a 'Sir'

Queen's Brian May gets the honor from King Charles

(Newser) - Queen guitarist Brian May is now a “Sir.” May, who also has a doctorate in astrophysics and is an animal welfare advocate, received a knighthood Friday as part of the UK's annual New Year's Honors list, per the AP . The guitarist, who was honored for services...

Spike Seen in Those
Rebuffing Queen's Honors

Dec 2, 2020 8:39 AM CST

Spike Seen in Those Rebuffing Queen's Honors

Number of people who've rejected UK honors has doubled over past decade

(Newser) - Turning down a British honor isn't uncommon. In fact, it's enough of a thing that Wikipedia has an entire page dedicated to it, and several notable names who've done it, including Roald Dahl and Aldous Huxley . But the number of those who've rebuffed the queen is...

Ringo Starr
Knighted

Mar 20, 2018 12:46 PM CDT

Ringo Starr Knighted

'It means a lot'

(Newser) - Beatles drummer Ringo Starr is now Sir Ringo Starr. The musician was knighted Tuesday in honor of his services to music, the BBC reports. "It means a lot actually," Starr said after the ceremony at Buckingham Palace in which Prince William bestowed the honor upon him. "It...

Ex-Beatle's New
Title: 'Sir Ringo'

Dec 30, 2017 6:29 AM CST

Ex-Beatle's New Title: 'Sir Ringo'

Ringo Starr, Bee Gee Barry Gibb to be knighted by the queen

(Newser) - A Beatle and a Bee Gee are among the celebrated citizens who've been selected for knighthood and other awards given in the name of Britain's monarch. Britain's Cabinet Office publishes a list of people receiving honors for merit, service, or bravery twice a year: just before New...

Kevin Spacey
Is Now a
British Knight,
Almost

Jun 12, 2015 5:02 PM CDT

Kevin Spacey Is Now a British Knight, Almost

He's a foreigner, so you don't have to call him sir

(Newser) - The queen doled knighthoods and other honors today, with Kevin Spacey and Van Morrison among the notables on the list. Spacey, who is wrapping up a decade-long run as artistic director at London's Old Vic theater, received an honorary knighthood for his contributions to British culture, reports ITV . Because...

Newest Knights: 'Mad Prof,' 'Father of Viagra'

Dec 31, 2014 7:25 AM CST

Newest Knights: 'Mad Prof,' 'Father of Viagra'

Pair of chemists, including scientist who 'laid the seed' for ED drug, honored

(Newser) - Move over, Walter White. Two chemists—one known as the "father of Viagra" and the other known as the "Mad Prof" of YouTube—have been knighted to kick off the new year, the BBC reports. Simon Campbell kick-started research on the erectile dysfunction drug during his 26-year tenure...

Brits Strip
Bad Banker
of Knighthood

Feb 1, 2012 12:52 AM CST

Brits Strip Bad Banker of Knighthood

Sir no more for ex-RBS boss Fred Goodwin

(Newser) - Sir Fred Goodwin is now just Fred Goodwin—or, as critics call the disgraced former Royal Bank of Scotland chief, Fred the Shred. The British government, saying Goodwin's bungling helped trigger the worst recession in the UK since WWII, has stripped him of the knighthood he was awarded in...

Apple's Design
Chief Is Now
a Knight

Dec 31, 2011 1:06 PM CST

Apple's Design Chief Is Now a Knight

British native Jonathan Ive earns honor in homeland

(Newser) - Apple's lead designer has a new title: Knight Commander of the British Empire. Or just Sir Jonathan if you like. Jonathan Ive has been awarded a knighthood in his native England, reports the BBC . The 44-year-old worked closely with Steve Jobs and has played a large role in creating...

Gordon Brown Blocked
Jobs Knighthood Over Snub

Mar 1, 2011 12:40 PM CST

Gordon Brown Blocked Jobs Knighthood Over Snub

Apple boss reportedly turned down invite to speak at Labour conference

(Newser) - Steve Jobs came thiiiis close to being an honorary knight—before then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown stepped in and put the kibosh on his nomination, one former lawmaker tells the Telegraph . What had Jobs done to earn the honor? Why make nifty-looking gadgets, of course!

Ted Kennedy to Be Knighted

Mar 4, 2009 2:40 AM CST

Ted Kennedy to Be Knighted

Gordon Brown to announce senator's royal honor today

(Newser) - Arise, Sir Ted. The ailing Massachusetts senator is to receive an honorary British knighthood for his services to American-British relations and his efforts to forge peace in Northern Ireland, reports the Times of London. Prime Minister Gordon Brown is expected to officially announce Kennedy's honor during his address to both...

Rowling Assures French:
'Voldemort' Not a Slight

Feb 3, 2009 4:01 PM CST

Rowling Assures French: 'Voldemort' Not a Slight

(Newser) - JK Rowling cleared up any fuss about her Harry Potter villain’s French name today, as she accepted that country’s Legion d’honneur for her contribution to the arts, Reuters reports. “I can assure you that the decision did not come from any anti-French sentiment,” Rowling said...

Lennon's Rejected Royal Medal Found

Jan 6, 2009 4:03 AM CST

Lennon's Rejected Royal Medal Found

Cheeky Beatle returned honor to Queen in peace protest

(Newser) - The symbol of the royal honor John Lennon didn't want has been found forgotten in a royal vault, the Times of London reports. Lennon was awarded the Member of the British Empire honor in 1965—prompting some others to turn in theirs—but sent it back to the palace in...

Norway Knights King Penguin

Aug 15, 2008 4:09 PM CDT

Norway Knights King Penguin

Military, royalty honor beloved bird with grand ceremony

(Newser) - Nils Olav, an honorary colonel-in-chief of the Norwegian King’s Guard—and a 3-foot-tall king penguin—was knighted today by Norway's King Harald V, the AP reports. Nils, named after former Norwegian King Olav V, caught the attention of the guards while they were touring the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland...

Revulsed,
Queen Voids
Mugabe Knighthood

Jun 25, 2008 1:21 PM CDT

Revulsed, Queen Voids Mugabe Knighthood

'Abject disregard for the democratic process' in Zimbabwe leads to annulment of honor

(Newser) - Queen Elizabeth II stripped Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe of his honorary knighthood today, calling the move “a mark of revulsion at the abuse of human rights and abject disregard for the democratic process in Zimbabwe over which President Mugabe has presided," the Times of London reports. A run-off presidential...

That's Sir Salman Rushdie

Jun 25, 2008 12:54 PM CDT

That's Sir Salman Rushdie

Pshaw Iran, Queen Elizabeth knights the controversial author in a 'private moment'

(Newser) - Queen Elizabeth officially knighted Salman Rushdie today, the AP reports, a year after the award was announced to widespread Muslim protest. “I have no regrets about any of my work,” said Rushdie, when asked about his novel The Satanic Verses, for which the Shah of Iran awarded him...

Computer Pioneer Earns Knighthood

Dec 29, 2007 8:16 AM CST

Computer Pioneer Earns Knighthood

Steve Furber helped advance computer literacy and revolutionize electronics

(Newser) - Computing pioneer Steve Furber, who helped design a home computer used to improve computer literacy in Britain, and one of the most-used microprocessors in history, has been made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, reports the BBC. Furber, a University of Manchester professor, currently is working to...

Rushdie Honor Sparks Furor

Jun 18, 2007 1:05 PM CDT

Rushdie Honor Sparks Furor

Novelist's knighthood prompts uproar from some corners of the Muslim world

(Newser) - Pakistan wants Britain to revoke Salman Rushdie's just-granted knighthood—and the UK should prepare for suicide attacks if it doesn't, a Pakistani cabinet minister said today. "If someone exploded a bomb on his body he would be right to do so unless the British government apologizes and withdraws the...