Rock Musicians Queen Elizabeth II Knighted Before She Died
The news of Queen Elizabeth II’s death at 96 years old on Sept. 8, 2022, shocked the world. She was Britain’s longest-serving monarch, having been in her role since 1952. Many of her duties focused on politics and state affairs, but the queen also crossed into the music world by knighting some classic rock pop stars during her reign.
Queen Elizabeth II knighted Paul McCartney and Elton John
The late Prince Philip called Elton John an idiot the first time he met him, but the prince’s opinion didn’t deter the queen from knighting Elton John in 1998. She later bestowed upon Sir Elton the Companion of Honour title for his philanthropic work, according to his website.
The queen also recognized Paul McCartney for his contributions to the arts. Macca once said he felt like Harry Potter when the queen knighted him in 1997. That was his second honor from the crown as he and the rest of the Beatles — John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr — were named Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) — in 1965.
McCartney and John are the only rock/pop musicians the queen knighted, though several others earned the honor from the royal family.
The queen refused to knight Mick Jagger, but he became sir Mick anyway
The queen personally dubbed McCartney and John Sirs Paul and Elton, respectively, but other members of the royal family turned other famous musicians into knights.
For starters, Queen Elizabeth II refused to knight Mick Jagger. It might have been because of his rumored affair with her sister, Or maybe it was he once called her “chief witch.” Whatever the reason, Prince Charles performed the ceremony instead of the queen.
Prince Charles also knighted Van Morrison and the Kinks’ Ray Davies, according to Ultimate Classic Rock. Meanwhile, Prince William did the MBE honors for Rod Stewart and Ringo Starr, per UCR.
Bono, Bob Geldof, and Ravi Shankar are non-British citizens who were given honorific knighthoods by the queen, per UCR.
David Bowie refused to be knighted
Being knighted by the royal family is a rare honor, but David Bowie wasn’t interested. He declined the prestigious honors twice, first in 2000 and again in 2003.
Bowie wasn’t the only famous artist to rebuff the royal family’s knighthood invite. Alan Rickman, C.S. Lewis, Aldous Huxley, and Roald Dahl were celebrities who turned down knighthood. So too did famed physicist Stephen Hawking. John Lennon was knighted but returned his medal a few years later.
Of the several famous rock musicians who became knights in the last 30 years, Queen Elizabeth II personally knighted just two — Paul McCartney and Elton John.
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