7 Famous People Who Rejected Honors From The Late Queen

No Ma’am! figures who declined Queen Elizabeth II.

Out of all the honors that the Queen Of England bestowed upon her subjects, a knighthood is easily the most coveted and sounds really fancy too.

There are few titles more desirable to citizens of Britain than having a Sir or a Dame written in front of their names.

However, there are those who would still turn down such a title sometimes because of their views about the throne or other personal opinions.

The surprising aspect: there are many notable celebrities and other famous people out there who have rejected the honor from the Queen.

Let’s know about the people who rejected honor from the Late Queen.

1. Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking is perhaps the greatest cosmetologist and theoretical physicist of all time.

He was undoubtedly one of the greatest minds to have ever lived. His contributions are great when it comes to an understanding of the universe and especially black holes.

Stephen Hawking lived his life for science and for his remarkable discoveries and theories.

He was awarded the highest title in Britain — Knighthood, sometime in the 1990s. However, Hawking rejected it in protest against Britain’s lack of funding for scientific research.

2. David Bowie

David Bowie, also known as the Great David Bowie, was a songwriter and an actor.

David refused Royal honor twice.

First in 2000, when he refused to accept a CBE (Commander of the British Empire), and the second one in 2003, which was the highest Royal title of Britain, the Knighthood.

The reason for refusal described by David Bowie has he never had any intention of accepting something like that because he didn’t know what to do with them, and it’s not what he had spent his life working for.

When he was asked about his fellow music artists like Sir Mick Jagger, Sir Paul McCartney, and Sir Elton John — Bowie said: it’s not up to him to judge Jagger or anyone else.

It’s entirely their decision; however, it is not for him. Furthermore, he made it clear that he was not against the monarchy or anything like that. It is just his opinion, and he stands by it.

3. Doris Lessing

Doris Lessing, the unrestrained and outspoken novelist — won the Nobel Prize in 2007 for a lifetime of writing that frazzled convention — both artistic and social.

Doris was a passionate communist, often rebelling against the British political system and the British Monarchy.

Doris refused the Royal title offer quite a bit time.

One of them was in 1993, when she was at the age of 74, she turned down the offer of being a Dame — saying she couldn’t accept anything from the very institution she first rebelled against when she was young.

The second time she refused an OBE as this honor came from a non-existent empire.

However, in 2000, Doris accepted the CH (Companion of Honor).

4. Jennifer Saunder And Dawn French

This legendary comedy duo of Jennifer Saunder and Dawn French declined the OBEs they were supposed to get for their services to comedy and drama in 2001.

When asked about why they turned down the offer, the duo explained: if it was for them to decide, they would have given themselves a Damehood.

But the main reason was that they were being paid extremely well, and every need of theirs was taken care of while all they did was have a lot of fun.

For that, they thought they didn’t really deserve a pat on the back, and they thought it would have felt really fake to stand among the people who really devoted their lives to a truly worthy cause.

5. Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore was one of India’s greatest uni-cultured spiritual men and the first Non-European to win a Nobel Prize for literature in 1913. Tagore was a novelist, poet, dramatist, songwriter, and educator.

In 1915 Tagore was offered a knighthood title by King George V, which he accepted. However, by 1919 Tagore renounced his Knighthood because of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

More than 370 people were killed, which included women and children, and the main reason for renouncing Knighthood was the involvement of British troops in the massacre.

6. L.S Lowry

Lowry, an artist who is famous for his painting of the Lancashire industrial scene, turned downed more honor from the Queen than any other individual.

Lowry refused a total of five royal titles — which includes an OBE which he was offered in 1995, a CBE of 1961, and a knighthood in 1968.

The reason for declining the offer to the Queen again and again and again was his friends, and he believed that this kind of status would change his situation, which he preferred the way it was.

7. John Lennon & George Harrison From The Beatles

All the members of The Beatles were given MBEs (Member of the Order of the British Empire) which is the 3rd highest title from the Queen to anyone.

However, this didn’t go well with the establishment.

Things got really bad when John Lennon returned his MBE in 1969 with a letter to the Queen in which he stated his return from MBE in protest to what happened in Nigeria-Biafra (AKA — Nigeria Civil War) and because of Britain’s involvement in it.

George Harrison, another member of The Beatles, rejected an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in 2000.

OBE is the second highest title from the Queen. Perhaps a reason for rejecting the OBE could be his former bandmate Paul McCartney who was knighted a couple of years before.

People who were really close to The Beatles later said that whoever was responsible for offering an OBE instead of Knighthood was extremely insensitive, and this really did make George Harrison feel insulted.

Final Words

If you were offered the honor, would you have taken? Probably, yes.

Well, all these famous personalities had their reasons for declining their own and what we see in common is that none of them had any grudge against the crown or the monarchy just. It was their personal preference.

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