How can you be knighted by the queen

Lowry, who turned the crown down five times. Between and , Roald Dahl, Graham Greene, and others took a pass. And in some cases, they then waited for an upgrade. Alfred Hitchcock eventually took up the Queen on a knighthood, nearly 20 years after rejecting a measly Commander award.

Knights and Dames Grand Cross get to wear special gear to formal events like coronations. This getup includes a pink-with-gray-edges satin mantle and a collar of six gold medallions. All members of the Order are allowed to wear the group's badge. The badge is basically a cross hanging from a pink ribbon with gray edges, although various ranks wear their badges in unique ways.

Members and Officers simply wear their badges like military medals pinned to their chests, while higher-ups wear theirs on sashes or around their necks. Other benefits include getting a spot in the British order of precedence, the arcane system that develops the hierarchy of ceremonial importance for things like state dinners.

Furthermore, knights win their wives the right to be called "Lady," and Knights and Dames Grand Cross can modify their coats of arms to reflect the honor. Have you got a Big Question you'd like us to answer? If so, let us know by emailing us at bigquestions mentalfloss. BY Ethan Trex. Congratulations Sir Ringo Starr! Big Questions Europe History News. Subscribe to our Newsletter! There is no deadline for making a nomination, but the person you are nominating must still be active in their role, and if possible there must still be some time before they retire.

When you submit your nomination for consideration of an award it takes around 12—18months for a decision to be made, so if you wait until someone has retired or stepped down from their role it may be too late for them to be considered for an award.

If you think your nominee would have a better chance of success once they have finished a particular project, you can simply make the nomination now and supply a letter of update when their project is complete. Don't delay your nomination if your nominee is nearing retirement or it may be too late.

Every year many individuals are conferred as either a Knight or Dame by The Queen, and next year your nominee could be one of them with yours and our help. The Honours and Appointments Secretariat at The Cabinet Office collate nominations as they arrive and refer them to the most relevant of the nine honours committees.

Honours committees assess all kinds of achievements made by all sorts of individuals, from entrepreneurs and business men, to educational, legal and health professionals, to high achievers in sports and the arts, as well as community workers and volunteers.

Independent experts are selected to join the various committees, joined by senior civil servants. These individuals undertake further examination of nominations for all levels of Queen's awards, including knighthoods and damehoods, and together they will conclude who deserves which if any level of award.

The only way to make sure your nominee gets the recognition they deserve is to make a nomination so detailed and compelling that it leaves no doubt in the judges eyes that they are deserving of an award — and we can help you to do just that.

Call us today to get your nomination started. There is no right or wrong way for a nomination to look, every nomination is unique and should accurately reflect the individual it recommends.

When examining a nomination the honours committees are looking for evidence that the nominee is deserving of a knighthood or damehood. They are expecting to be informed about the individual roles, contributions and achievements of the nominee in a way that allows them to make an appropriate and informed decision. This includes dates, charitable contributions, professional achievements, voluntary roles, community achievements as well as genuine third party support from individuals who can provide further information about the nominee's achievements.

Our consultants commit on average around hours to researching, gathering and collating all the information they need to give your nominee the best possible chance of success. Only individuals who have been awarded a knighthood or damehood are entitled to use these titles with their name. Foreign citizens who are awarded an honorary knighthood or damehood for their services to the UK or to other countries are not entitled to use Sir or Dame, but are often coined with the title by the public — for example "Sir" Bob Geldof.

Receiving such a high level award from The Queen is an exceptional time in an individual's life. Honours can be awarded to individuals living all over the world. Non-UK citizens can be considered for an honour for their work within the UK. UK citizen's achievements can benefit other UK citizens either at home or in their chosen country abroad, or must bring distinction to the UK in some way. Any individual who is recommended for a knighthood or damehood must be doing inspirational and outstanding work that goes above and beyond that of their peers.

The nominee will have achieved results that benefit the community, their peers or society at large in some way, whether at home or abroad. Nominations for KBEs and DBEs are often the result of an exceptional achievement, and may be made in any area; from business and philanthropy to professional work, public service, and sport or the arts. Often individuals are recognised with a knighthood or damehood for their work in more than one area, for example, for their professional role and for their charitable work.

First you will receive a letter inviting you to accept the award - this usually arrives around 6 weeks before an Honours List is announced. Conferment of a Knight or Dame takes place at an investiture ceremony, which may be held publicly or in private. At the ceremony, the individual will be ceremonially "dubbed" by The Queen, who will lay the sword blade on their right, then left shoulder.

Take a look at our blog video to see behind-the-scenes at an investiture ceremony. Awards Intelligence will never knowingly divulge which nominations have resulted in a knighthood or damehood. We treat all nominations with the utmost confidentiality and respect.

However we are delighted to receive wonderful feedback from our clients, including this testimonial from the wife of a recipient of a knighthood:. If you would like to read some feedback we have received from happy clients please have a look at our testimonials page. When you make a nomination it is not necessary to stipulate which level of honour you think the nominee deserves.

However it can be helpful to understand the level of award they may be eligible to be considered for:. In short, levels tend to be considered according to the spread of the nominee's work and achievements, for example; the BEM and MBE are mainly awarded for local, hands-on achievement; the OBE and CBE tend to be awarded for work and achievements that have had a wider impact on society, for example, influencing a profession, industry, region or nation; and a knighthood or damehood is the highest level of award given for the widest impact, for example an inspirational impact on a profession, industry, country, or charitable cause.

Awards Intelligence will never lobby for an honour to be awarded to any individual. Our professional service is transparent and objective and bears no relationship to the Cabinet Office or any other government department or committee. Every single nomination is considered by the appropriate honours committee and will only be judged on the merit of the candidate's achievements — not on who the nominator is, or on who drafted the nomination.

The Cabinet Office are aware when a nomination has been professionally drafted and ensure that all nominations are considered equally, ensuring a fair and equal process. A criminal record will not prevent a person for being considered for a knighthood, so long as there is no outstanding issue. Demonstrating how the nominee has turned their life around and used their experience in a positive way to help others can in fact make a great nomination, and there are many examples of people who have achieved this result despite a difficult time in their life.

Take a look at our blog story to find out more about one Queen's honours recipient who did just this, and ended up with an MBE for all her effort! Everyone has a unique story to tell in their nomination, so the best thing to do if you are considering an honour is give us a call for your free, confidential assessment and we will make sure you tick all the boxes for a Queen's honour nomination. Honours are open to all and are judged by the appropriate committee using a fair and transparent approach.

Every nominee is considered for an award based only on the merit of their achievements, not on the merit of who has provided their nomination. Using the Awards Intelligence honours nomination service will guarantee that your nomination is of the highest standard and detail, in order to give it the best possible chance of success. We will not guarantee the receipt of an honour as we do not influence the selection process.

The only way to ensure your nominee has the best chance of getting an honour is to provide a compelling case for consideration - and this is where we are the experts — so just give us a call to find out how we can help you today. Working with Ed was a pleasure — even if the pandemic did force us into some lengthy Zoom meetings!

It was a great comfort to have experienced eyes guide the process and presentation. We would recommend them to anyone who thinks that, with a little help, they have a business worthy of recognition.