These Famous Folks Said "No" To Honors From The Queen
We always hear about the celebrity who gets knighted and now is forever known with a "Sir" or "Dame" in front of their name. Or the ones who've been honored with the Order of the British Empire—indicated with a "OBE" after their name.
But what about the famous men and women who were offered various honors and said "no thank you"? These are the celebs that turned down royal recognition (knighthood, CBE, OBE, etc)—and some of them will surely surprise you.
Just for all of our edification, these are the various British honours (in order of precedence):
GBE (Knight or Dame) - Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
KBE or DBE (Knight or Dame) - Knight Commander or Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
CBE - Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
OBE - Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
MBE - Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
George Harrison
Three years after Paul McCartney became Sir Paul McCartney, his former bandmate was offered an Order of the British Empire (OBE). He refused. Being one step below knighthood, there are reports that claim Harrison turned it down because he felt he deserved the same recognition as McCartney.
Alfred Hitchcock
When Alfred Hitchcock turned down a CBE in 1962, it wasn't because he didn't think he deserved it. He thought he deserved better. In 1980, Hitchcock got better when he was offered, and accepted, a knighthood.
JK Rowling
The most famous muggle author of the 21st Century didn't say "no" to every British honor she was offered. In 2001, Rowling received an OBE, and she was made a Companion of Honour in 2017. However, on two separate occasions she has been offered a promotion to Baroness, and she has declined the offer each time—and has said she would do it again were it to be offered a third time in the future.
David Bowie
Bowie didn't just turn down one honor—he said "no" to two different ones. In 2000, he was offered the Commander of the British Empire (CBE) and the Queen offered to knight him in 2003—but, once again, he said "no thank you":
"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".
Stephen Hawking
The brilliant and famous theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author was given a CBE in 1982, but in the late 90s, Hawking turned down an offer to be knighted. He discussed his reasoning for declining the offer in 2008, saying that he had done so primarily in protest of the government's cuts to science funding.
John Lydon
Honestly, we would've been more surprised had John Lydon (AKA Johnny Rotten, AKA the guy who sang "God save the Queen/The fascist regime") had accepted the honor. As he told NPR in 2015: "Oh, they're trying to give me an OBE or an MBE, or whatever that is. Nope, not interested".
Ed Vill from Caracas, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Danny Boyle
The director of Slumdog Millionaire was very happy to accept his Best Director Oscar for the great 2008 film—but in 2012, he was offered a knighthood by the crown and turned it down. "It’s just not me," he said.
Montclair Film, Wikimedia Commons
Peter Capaldi
Yup, the 12th Doctor Who declined a British honor. Well, we think he did. You see, in 2017, he commented that it was nice that people got the honors, but that for him, "it's not really my thing". He seemed to hint that he'd been offered some honor and turned it down (but we do not know for sure).
Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia Commons
John Oliver
John Oliver hasn't been shy about his support for ending the British monarchy and making Britain a republic—so, it probably shouldn't surprise anyone that he turned down an offer of an OBE. In 2019, Oliver told Conan O'Brien, "Why on Earth would I want that?... Then I looked up all the people who rejected it. I think The Beatles gave it back in the end".
And he was kind of right about that...
Steve Jennings for TechCrunch, Wikimedia Commons
John Lennon
John Lennon didn't give back an OBE, but in 1965, all of The Beatles were made Members of the British Empire (MBE)—and four years later, Lennon returned his honor, writing in a letter: "I am returning my MBE as a 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".
Tony Barnard, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
John Cleese
Former Monty Python member and co-creator of the brilliant Fawlty Towers, John Cleese called the honor system "silly" when he declined a CBE in 1996. In 1999, he was offered a peerage, but again he declined, comically stating that the requirement to reside in England during the winter months was "too much of a price to pay".
John Manard from Richmond, VA, USA, Wikimedia Commons
Alan Rickman
In 2008, actor Alan Rickman declined a CBE—writing in his diaries that the honor didn't interest him, citing his political views and his connection to Ireland as reasons for his decision.
Roald Dahl
One of the greatest British novelists of all time—Roald Dahl (the man who gave us Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and more) turned down an OBE. Reportedly, he did so because he wanted a knighthood, as said title would have elevated his wife to the title of "Lady Dahl".
CS Lewis
And while we're on the topic of authors, we should also mention that CS Lewis turned down the OBE. He explained his reasons in a letter he wrote to Winston Churchill in 1951:
"I feel greatly obliged to the Prime Minister, and so far as my personal feelings are concerned this honour would be highly agreeable". However, Lewis believed that Christianity is "covert anti-Leftist propaganda, and my appearance in the Honours List would of course strengthen their hands. It is therefore better that I should not appear there".
John Chillingworth, Getty Images
Helen Mirren
Hold on a second...isn't she Dame Helen Mirren? Well, yes she is. However, before eventually accepting the DBE in 2003, she had turned down Damehood in 1992 and, prior to that, had also declined an OBE in the 1970s.
Martin Kraft, Wikimedia Commons
Malcolm McDowell
The star of A Clockwork Orange has twice refused the offer of a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)—the first time was in 1984 and he said "no" again in 1995.
Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia Commons
Nigella Lawson
TV chef and food personality Nigella Lawson was offered an OBE back in 2001, but she turned it down, saying: "I'm not saving lives and I'm not doing anything other than something I absolutely love".
Vanessa Redgrave
In 1967, actress Vanessa Redgrave accepted a CBE and in 1999, was offered a Damehood. At the time, she declined the offer due to her opposition to the Iraq War and Prime Minister Tony Blair—however, in 2022, the offer was made again, and this time, Redgrave was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).
Garry Knight, Wikimedia Commons
Bill Nighy
According to Good Housekeeping, actor Bill Nighy declined the offer because he "didn't think he'd make a very good knight".
Dawn French & Jennifer Saunders
Comedy duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders were offered OBEs in 2001 but didn't feel right accepting the honor. "If I felt I deserved a Damehood, I'd accept it," said Saunder. "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".
Alan Cumming
In 2009, Alan Cumming was given the OBE for his acting and for his activism for LGBTQ+ rights in the United States. However, on his birthday in 2023, Cumming announced that he had returned the honor, writing on Instagram:
"The Queen’s death and the ensuing conversations about the role of monarchy and especially the way the British Empire profited at the expense (and death) of Indigenous peoples across the world really opened my eyes. Also, thankfully, times and laws in the US have changed, and the great good the award brought to the LGBTQ+ cause back in 2009 is now less potent than the misgivings I have being associated with the toxicity of empire".
Tim Whitby/BAFTA, Getty Images
Michael Sheen
Welsh actor Michael Sheen was honored with an OBE in 2009—but by 2020, after doing research about the relationship between Wales and Britain, he was having second thoughts about the whole thing and he decided it was best to return it.
"I'd be a hypocrite if I said the things I was going to say in the lecture about the nature of the relationship between Wales and the British state".
Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia Commons
Ken Loach
Filmmaker Ken Loach didn't mince words when he explained why he turned down an OBE in 1977: "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".
Ruben Ortega, Wikimedia Commons
Benjamin Zephaniah
British poet Benjamin Zephaniah didn't just turn down an OBE—it made him angry that they even made the offer in the first place: "Me? I thought, 'OBE me?' 'Up yours', I thought. I get angry when I hear that word 'empire'".
Richard Ecclestone, Getty Images
Jim Broadbent
Actor Jim Broadbent didn't think he deserved the OBE when it was offered to him: "I was offered an OBE a couple of years ago, but I said, ‘no,’ and turned it down...partly because I think they ought to go to those who really help others".
John Le Carré
The greatest spy-novelist of all time, John le Carré, turned down a knighthood. He also turned down numerous literary awards throughout his life (although, he did accept the German Goethe Medal in 2011 and the French Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2005).
Krimidoedel, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Albert Finney
Feeling that the "Sir" title, "slightly perpetuates one of our diseases in England, which is snobbery"—Actor Albert Finney said "no thank you" to a knighthood in 2000. He had also previously turned down an CBE in 1980.
Brian Eno
The musician, songwriter, producer and artist declined the CBE in 2007. While he didn't provide a specific reason for his decision—he has, in the past, talked about his desire not to be associated with the "establishment".
Harvey Weinstein
This one went the other way. It wasn't Weinstein's decision to give back his honorary CBE in 2020—the disgraced movie mogul had it stripped from him.
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