The New Year’s and birthday honours lists are seen by many as the ultimate recognition of a life dedicated to public service. These lists, which include thousands of names from across the UK, of both civilians and celebrities, honour their achievements and service with awards such as knighthoods, damehoods, or MBEs.
This year’s list was announced last night (December 30, 2024), with London Mayor Sadiq Khan amongst those receiving an honour. However, not everyone who is offered an honour accepts it. While it’s unusual to publicly disclose a refusal, there have been notable instances where individuals have made their decision known. There have also been leaks from official sources at times.
Additionally, there are instances where someone initially accepts an honour, only to return it later. Potential recipients are contacted approximately six weeks prior to any public announcement to confirm in writing that they wish to be nominated for an honour, in an effort to avoid any awkward situations.
King Charles is granting honours to hundreds of Londoners
(Image: YUI MOK/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Throughout Queen Elizabeth II’s seven-decade reign, countless people, some famous and others less so, were recognised in the biannual honours lists. This year’s New Year’s list was announced by King Charles, reports Wales Online.
A host of famous faces, including writers, artists, and musicians, have famously declined British honours, with Cardiff-born author Roald Dahl, singer David Bowie, and director Alfred Hitchcock among them. Artist LS Lowry turned down honours five times, setting a record.
The Cabinet Office revealed in 2012 that from 1951 to 1999, 277 people had refused a New Year or Birthday honour. While it was once unusual for recipients to publicly decline after the official list was published, it has become more common for celebrities to openly refuse. In 2020, The Guardian reported, citing a freedom of information request, that 68 out of the 2,504 honours offered were declined, which is about 2.7 per cent.
Michael Sheen
Welsh actor Michael Sheen returned his Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2017, which he had received in 2009 for services to drama. He made this decision after researching the historical relationship between England and Wales for a lecture.
“By the time I had finished writing that lecture…I remember sitting there going: ‘Well, I have a choice – I either don’t give this lecture and hold on to my OBE or I give this lecture and I have to give my OBE back,'” Sheen explained in a 2020 discussion with The Guardian columnist Owen Jones.
Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders
The comedy duo famously said no to OBEs “for services to comedy drama” back in 2001, but it wasn’t until later that they shared their reasons. Saunders opened up to Source magazine about the decision: “If I felt I deserved a damehood I’d accept it. At the time we felt that we were being paid very well to have a lot of fun. It didn’t seem right somehow. We didn’t deserve a pat on the back. It felt a bit fake to stand alongside people who devoted their lives to truly worthy causes.”
David Bowie
David Bowie said a knighthood ‘just wasn’t for (him)’
(Image: PA/Sukita and The David Bowie Archive)
Bowie was another star who shunned the establishment’s accolades, making it clear he had no interest in becoming a knight. He stated plainly: “I would never have any intention of accepting anything like that. I seriously don’t know what it’s for. It’s not what I spent my life working for.”
Regarding Sir Mick Jagger’s acceptance of the honour, Bowie maintained: “It’s not my place to make a judgment on Jagger – it’s his decision. But it’s just not for me.”
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl, the Cardiff-born literary genius behind classics such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach, also declined a knighthood offered in the 1986 New Year’s honours. This fact came to light following a freedom of information request by the Telegraph, although the reasons behind Dahl’s refusal remain unknown.
Nigella Lawson
Culinary queen Nigella has been open about her choice to turn down an OBE in 2001. She humbly remarked: “I’m not saving lives and I’m not doing anything other than something I absolutely love.”
Stephen Hawking
Professor Stephen Hawking declined a knighthood to take a stance against science funding cuts
(Image: Joe Giddens/PA Wire)
In 2008, Stephen Hawking revealed that he had been approached about a knighthood in the late 1990s but declined the offer. His decision was reportedly influenced by the government’s handling of science funding and cuts. Hawking had already received the accolade of a CBE.
Paul Weller
Iconic musician Weller turned down his CBE in 2006. According to his spokesperson: “Paul was surprised and flattered but it wasn’t really for him.”
John Lennon
The Beatle initially accepted an MBE but chose to return it in 1969 as a form of protest against Britain’s foreign policies. He penned a letter that read: “Your Majesty, I am returning this in protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam, and against Cold Turkey slipping down the charts. With Love, John Lennon of Bag.”
John Cleese
John Cleese didn’t want the responsibilities that came with a peerage
(Image: Joshua Sammer/Getty Images)
Comedy legend John Cleese refused a CBE in 1996 because he found them “silly”. Later, he declined a peerage offered by Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown in 1999, as he didn’t fancy the idea of remaining in England during the cold winters to serve as a working peer.
George Harrison
The former Beatle turned down an OBE in 2000, sparking conversations about the discrepancy in honours within The Beatles – this came not long after Paul McCartney had received a knighthood. While all members of the band were previously honoured with MBEs in 1965, with John Lennon later returning his, the decision to not knight George Harrison might have felt like a slight.
“Whoever it was who decided to offer him the OBE and not the knighthood was extraordinarily insensitive,” commented his friend Roy Connolly. “George would have felt insulted – and with very good reason.”
Ken Loach
Ken Loach famously refused an OBE in 1977, aligning his decision with the values that are often depicted in his films which address social struggles such as poverty and homelessness. He explained to the Radio Times, “It’s all the things I think are despicable: patronage, deferring to the monarchy, and the name of the British Empire, which is a monument of exploitation and conquest. I turned down the OBE because it’s not a club you want to join when you look at the villains who’ve got it.”
Jon Snow
Jon Snow declined an OBE in 2000
(Image: Anthony Devlin/PA Wire)
Jon Snow also declined an OBE back in 2000. This decision preluded his documentary ‘Secrets of the Honours System’ released in 2002. The investigative journalist kept a critical stance on the terminology ’empire’ present in the honours titles. Reflecting on the honour he said, “I tried to find out why I’d been given it and was unable to get a clear answer or, indeed, to find out who had proposed me.”
Danny Boyle
Film director Danny Boyle has revealed he declined an honour for his role in the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony, stating it “was wrong” to take individual credit. “It’s just not me,” he explained, emphasizing the collective effort: “You can make these speeches about: ‘This is everybody’s work, blah blah blah’. And you’ve got to mean it, and I did mean it, and it is true, and it’s the only way you can carry on something like that: through the efforts of all the people. I don’t know whether I’ll ever get invited back to the palace.”
Bernie Ecclestone
Bernie Ecclestone, the ex-chief executive of the Formula One Group who admitted to fraud over undeclared assets worth £400m, also refused an honour. In a 2019 interview, he remarked that although he was pleased if his actions had positive outcomes, his primary motivation in business wasn’t to do good, so he didn’t believe he merited an honour.
LS Lowry
The renowned painter is thought to have said no to more honours than anyone else, including a knighthood, a CBE, and an OBE. His friend Harold Riley disclosed that Lowry was a private individual who didn’t want the attention or to change his name, which influenced his decision to turn down the accolades.
Huw T Edwards
The Welsh trade unionist and Welsh Labour politician was known for his discomfort with honours, having declined a knighthood on at least two occasions. He had previously accepted an MBE before later renouncing it.
Rudyard Kipling
Writer and poet Kipling turned down a knighthood in 1899 and again in 1903. His wife revealed that Kipling believed he could “do his work better without it”.
The author also refused the Order of Merit in 1921 and again in 1924. Kipling’s views on the significance of titles and poetry were expressed in his poem The Last Rhyme of True Thomas.
Honor Blackman
Actress Honor Blackman was an outspoken republican
(Image: Rosie Greenway/Getty Images)
Before her death in 2020, Bond actress Honor Blackman was a vocal supporter of Republic, the campaign for an elected head of state in the UK – so it’s hardly surprising that she declined a CBE in 2002. Blackman also publicly criticised fellow Bond star Sir Sean Connery for his tax-evading habits.
“I don’t think you should accept a title from a country and then pay absolutely no tax towards it,” she said in 2012. “I don’t think his principles are very high.”
Benjamin Zephaniah
The poet Benjamin Zephaniah, who passed away on December 7, 2023 aged just 65, openly rejected an OBE in 2003 in protest at British government policies and the British Empire. Writing in the Guardian, he said the word ’empire’ “reminds me of slavery, it reminds of thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised”. The writer described himself as “profoundly anti-empire”.
Jim Broadbent
The beloved actor chose to reject an OBE in 2002, humbly expressing his discomfort with actors being awarded Royal accolades. “I think [honours] ought to go to those who really help others,” he shared with the Telegraph, “Besides I like the idea of actors not being part of the Establishment. We’re vagabonds and rogues.” Broadbent further critiqued the honours framework, adding: “I don’t think the British Empire is something that I particularly want to celebrate.”
Albert Finney
Actor Albert Finney was a strong critic of the honours system
(Image: William Conran/PA Wire)
Albert Finney, the distinguished late actor, declined a CBE in 1980 and turned down a knighthood two decades later. His criticism of the honours system was fierce, as he condemned the concept of bestowing knighthood, targeting it as a contributor to elitism.
Andrew Davies
The renowned Welsh screenplay writer noted for House of Cards and adapting Pride and Prejudice also apparently shunned an honour, but his reasons remain undisclosed.
Alan Rickman
The late ‘Harry Potter’ actor is rumoured to have refused a CBE during his illustrious career. He did not make his motives public at the time. Posthumous efforts to secure a knighthood for Rickman have surfaced, yet no serious moves towards such an accomplishment have emerged.
John Lydon
It will come as no surprise that the archetypally anti-establishment figure, allegedly turned down an offer for an MBE. His earlier tenure in the Sex Pistols and their release of “God Save the Queen” around the time of the monarch’s silver jubilee made his decision to decline unsurprising.
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