Can you be knighted if not british

An Oscar nominee, Zeffirelli joyously proclaimed the knighthood to be "the greatest conquest, recognition, I have received in my life, practically. Paul Hewson—a. U2 lead singer Bono—falls into the category of honorary knights because he is an Irish citizen like fellow honorary knight, Irishman Pierce Brosnan. Though Ireland is part of the British Isles, its citizens are not British and therefore not eligible for "substantive" knighthood i.

In the same year he shared the title of TIME Magazine's Person s of the Year with fellow philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates, Bono was presented with honorary knighthood by the British ambassador to Ireland for his humanitarian work. The ceremony was made all the sweeter for taking place in Dublin, Bono's hometown. In addition to managing sums of wealth inconceivable to the average person, Bill Gates is also an honorary knight of the British Empire. Melinda Gates attended her husband's ceremony with the Queen, but she had to wait nearly another decade to be honored for her role in the Foundation's charitable work—it wasn't until that she was named an honorary Dame Commander.

In a simple message sent out on Twitter to accompany a photo from her ceremony, Gates said, "Honored to be named a Dame of the British Empire. The UK is a leader in fighting global poverty. In , it was announced that Ralph Lauren would become the first American fashion designer to be honorarily knighted. British Consul General Antony Phillipson recognized his commitment to public health research and treatment, along with his "key role in forging transatlantic cultural and economic connections" as "a vanguard for the global fashion industry.

Despite first achieving fame for her Oscar-winning acting career, Angelina Jolie's royal accolade isn't an acknowledgment of her work in Hollywood. Generally, it's a good idea to make a pretty substantial service and cultural contribution to the British realm. A few members of the Order of the British Empire aren't technically knights within the organization's hierarchy, but they're allowed to call themselves "Sir.

In fact, a number of people have turned down the honor due to uneasiness with its militaristic or imperialist overtones. According to an AP story, approximately two percent of the or so people offered spots in the Order each year decline them. David Bowie supposedly twice declined offers to join, including an offer of knighthood in , because he felt the whole business was a waste of time. John Cleese rejected a CBE and said he felt much more honored when a Swiss zoologist named a lemur after him in Vanessa Redgrave became a Commander of the British Empire in , but she turned down an offer of damehood in When asked about the decision to just say no in , Redgrave told The Independent , "My difficulty is in receiving anything that says British Empire, because I am a Unicef special representative at the service of children from any country.

If there were no mention of the British Empire, I would be as honored as anybody. If I were asked to be a baroness, for example, I would see that in a different light. Generally, anything prior to this is difficult to verify.

However, Parry has been able to confirm some knighthoods predating the 16th century, which has led to the inclusion of several hundred pre knights in the database. Research continues and pre entries will continue to grow with future updates to this database. For example, included in the collection with the January update, there are now more than 1, knights listed with their first awards dated prior to , of which are even before and include a very few who took part in the Battle of Hastings in Dr Durie began the enormous task of converting their Microsoft Works database into an excel file.

Some difficulties with the work should be noted, most pressing being the variations in the spelling of names, which has led to some confusion regarding potential duplicates. Some individuals, particularly Indian recipients, were listed by titles, such as Bahadur, as well as by names.

In some cases, British knights changed their surnames. In such cases, those knights are listed under the name they held when they received their first award. While it is generally understood that awards are limited to those countries that accepted Her Majesty The Queen as head of state, there are exceptions. As the system for awarding such honorary appointments is less comprehensive than that for the substantive awards, this part of the index is not exhaustive.

Occasionally, an individual holding an official position but not actually a knight has been permitted to confer a knighthood on another person. Knight Bachelor Kt Bach is the lowest rank of knighthood for a male recipient and is not part of an order of chivalry.

Knight bannerets were medieval knights who led troops into battle under their own banner. The last confirmed bestowal of a Knigh Banneret was by Charles I in No LGs were awarded between and The thistle, the national flower of Scotland, is the main emblem of this order.

The first notable ones would be the Knights of St John of Jerusalem which was from to The second is the Knights Templars from to There is also the Teutonic Knight of Finally, we have the order of the Garter of Having known that Americans can get knighted in an honorary capacity, it is important to point out a few things.

Knights have come a long way in defining history, especially in wars and battles. Also, the concept of knighthood is one that has its reach to several places in Europe. It is only safe to assume that this is one concept that will continue to be relevant even in our modern society. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Share This! Can Americans get knighted? Can A Woman Get Knighted? Quick Fact About Knights The first-ever medieval knights were professional cavalry warriors.

What Are The Knight Orders? Conclusion Having known that Americans can get knighted in an honorary capacity, it is important to point out a few things. You may also like. Add Comment. Click here to post a comment. Difference Between Rules And Laws. Comment Share This!