David Beckham and Gary Oldman receive British knighthoods in king's birthday honours
Actor
Gary Oldman
and
Roger Daltrey
, frontman of the Who, have received British knighthoods in the king's birthday honours list, which also confirms there is a knighthood for
David Beckham
, while the Angel of the North sculptor, Antony Gormley, received the top gong of Companion of Honour.
Pat Barker, the author of The Regeneration Trilogy,
Penny Mordaunt
, the former British secretary of defence, and the ceramicist Emma Bridgewater are among those to be made dames.
Beckham, who has been honoured for services to sport and charity, said he 'never could have imagined I would receive such a truly humbling honour'. He added: 'It will take a little while for the news to sink in but I'm immensely proud and it's such an emotional moment for me to share with my family.'
He had been on the verge of receiving a knighthood in 2014 but HM Revenue and Customs placed a red flag on his nomination due to his involvement in an alleged tax avoidance scheme, according to previous reports. In 2021 it was reported that his finances had been cleared and he was now eligible.
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Daltrey, who launched the Teenage Cancer Trust's Royal Albert Hall concerts, said he felt 'very humbled' to be made a knight for services to charity and music and would be celebrating with 'a bottle of plonk'. He said: 'It's a dream come true for me, but it's especially a dream because the charity means so much.'
Oldman, who won an
Oscar
for his portrayal of
Winston Churchill
in
Darkest Hour
, is recognised for services to drama.
Barker said the bedrock of the awards were those who devoted long hours for free to what they believed in for the benefit of others, 'and knights and dames are just cherries on the top of that cake. I am happy to be a cherry'.
Gormley becomes a Companion of Honour alongside the astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell. There are only 65 Companions of Honour at any one time.
The West End performer Elaine Paige said she was in 'complete disbelief' at becoming a dame. Rufus Norris, a former director of Britain's National Theatre, is made a knight and said it was an 'extraordinary privilege'.
Gary Oldman was recognised for services to drama. Photograph: Chris Jackson/PA
Those to receive CBEs (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) include the broadcaster Martha Kearney, the actor Jane Lapotaire, and the former tennis player Virginia Wade. The former Guardian economics editor Larry Elliott is awarded a CBE for services to economics journalism.
The Olympian Alistair Brownlee receives an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for services to triathlon and charity. Other OBEs include the former EastEnders actor Anita Dobson for charitable fundraising, the Bafta award-winning actor Samantha Morton, the television executive Stephen Lambert and the cricketer Devon Malcolm, for services to cricket and diversity in cricket.
The top two English darts players,
Luke Littler
and
Luke Humphries
, each score an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire). So do
Claudia Winkleman
and her Strictly colleague Tess Daly. Winkleman said: 'I am ridiculously lucky and will celebrate with Tess by doing a paso doble.' Daly said: 'I didn't see it coming, and it almost didn't happen, because the letter went to the wrong address.' Luckily, she said, 'it ended well'.
Georgia Harrison, who has starred in The Only Way is Essex and
Love Island
, receives an MBE for her campaigning on violence against women and girls after becoming a victim of 'revenge porn'. 'It means the world to have this kind of recognition, not just for me but for all the survivors who've been through what I have,' Harrison said.
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Brianna Parkins: Who wants a dusty British knighthood when Ireland can make its own honours system
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]
Tracy-Ann Oberman, who has also been in EastEnders and played Auntie Val in the Channel 4 sitcom Friday Night Dinner, has been made an MBE for services to Holocaust education and combating anti-Semitism.
Of the 1,215 people receiving an award, 48 per cent are women and 11 per cent are from minority ethnic backgrounds. – Guardian
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RTÉ News
8 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Victoria Beckham 'could not be prouder' of knight hubby
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The Irish Sun
10 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Victoria Beckham and kids congratulate Becks for long-awaited knighthood – but Brooklyn remains silent amid feud
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'The way you've touched so many lives over the years with kindness and humility speaks volumes about the man you are and continues to inspire us everyday. But above all else, I'm so, so proud to call you mine. I love you so much xxxx' Victoria wasn't the only one of the Beckham clan to share their congratulations, with Romeo Beckham also posting on his social media. He shared a black and white snap from David's 50th birthday in May, and wrote: 'So so proud of you,' followed by heart emojis . Most read in Celebrity Cruz Beckham also shared some kind words for his dad, and posted a photo of him sitting outdoors gazing at the camera. David Beckham to finally be awarded knighthood after string of near misses & disappointments over more than a decade David's youngest son wrote: 'I'm so proud dad I love you. Sir David Beckham has a nice ring to it.' As of yet, David and Victoria's eldest son, Brooklyn, hasn't shared a message of congratulations publicly for his father. But including all his family in his celebratory knighthood statement, David wrote: 'Growing up in East London with parents and grandparents who were so patriotic and proud to be British I never could have imagined I would receive such a truly humbling honour. 'To have played for and captained my country was the greatest privilege of my career and literally a boyhood dream come true. What do David Beckham's tattoos mean? Hands Starting with the hands, and David Beckham has the word "Love" inked across the top of his left hand, with a swallow on either side. This is joined by the numbers 723, a combination of the shirts he famously wore for On his little finger, he has the year he was married. Becks also has a small female-stick figure designed by his daughter The devoted husband has "Posh' tattooed on a finger as a nod to wife Victoria Beckham's Spice Girls nickname. Arms Becks has two sleeve tattoos on both his arms with the centrepieces paying tribute to his marriage to Victoria. The most famous of his body art comes in the shape of her name along the inside of his forearm, which is inked in Sanskrit. Both The matching tatts translate to, "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine". Meanwhile, Becks also has a separate rose inking on his left arm to mark the couple's tenth anniversary. Neck One of Beckham's most famous tattoos is on his neck, which is a gothic style cross and wings. It is symbolic of to his religion and acts as a protective guardian of his son Romeo, whose name is tattooed just below the angel wings. Beckham also has the name of his daughter, Harper, on the side of his neck. This was later updated to include the words "Pretty Lady", to mark her fourth birthday. Back Beckham's back tattoos serve as tribute to his sons. He has angel wings at the top as a sign of protection for them. Becks has both his eldest on Brooklyn, and his youngest son Cruz's names inked across his back. 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Irish Independent
13 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Northern Ireland's oldest man (106) receives honour from King Charles and shares secret to long life
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