A Queen’s tribute is seen by many as the highlight of their lives – others want nothing to do with it.
NHS heroes, sports stars and community champions have been awarded gongs in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Most famous faces dream of the day when they can bow or curse before a king and at the same time be recognized for their outstanding achievements.
However, a number of celebrities have actually declined the opportunity when presented to them, or even returned their award.
From not feeling worthy enough to feeling offended by what they have been offered, there are a variety of reasons people have turned them down over the years.
Here’s a look at the stars who said “no thanks” to receive an honor.
David Bowie
David Bowie said no
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The late great David Bowie actually declined two honors.
He refused to accept a CBE in 2000 and declined knighthood three years later.
He said: “I would never intend to accept something like that. I seriously don’t know what it’s for. It’s not what I’ve worked my whole life for.”
Bowie does not join the list of musical knights, including Sir Mick Jagger, Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Elton John.
When asked if fellow rocker Jagger would accept the honor, he said: “It’s not for me to pass judgment on Jagger, it’s his choice. But it’s just not for me.”
But he declined to discuss whether or not he was against the monarchy, as he was living in the US at the time, where he sadly died in 2016.
John Lennon
John Lennon returned his MBE
Beatles legend John Lennon famously returned his MBE in protest at British involvement in the Nigerian Civil War in 1966.
He felt uncomfortable accepting the honor if it appeared he was pro-establishment.
Along with the medal, he sent the Queen a note that read: “Your Majesty, I am sending this in protest at Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra affair, at our support of America in Vietnam, and at Cold Turkey’s slippage into the Charts.
“With love, John Lennon of Bag.”
His MBE medal remained in the vault of the Chancery Department of the Royal Household, but his title remained until his tragic death in 1980.
The rules state that “a person may choose to voluntarily relinquish their honor”, but they “would still retain the honor unless or until HM Queen annuls it”.
George Harrison
The Beatles with their MBEs in 1965
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Meanwhile, bandmate George Harrison wasn’t happy when Paul McCartney was knighted in 1997.
Harrison was said to have been “offended” by the snub as he had always disliked being overshadowed by McCartney and Lennon.
In 2013, Cabinet Office papers revealed that Harrison declined an OBE after Paul was knighted for his lower status.
“Whoever decided to offer him OBE rather than knighthood was extraordinarily insensitive,” friend Roy Connolly told the Daily Mail.
“George would have felt offended – and for very good reason.”
The OBE was recommended by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to recognize Harrison’s significant contribution to the music industry.
It said: “He was a member of what many people would say are the best that Britain has ever produced, and quite possibly the best in the world, The Beatles.”
French and Saunders
French and Saunders did not accept
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Gold/UKTV)
Comedy duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders declined OBEs “for services to comedy-drama” in 2001.
When they later explained why, Saunders said, “If I felt like I deserved a damehood, I would accept it,” she told Source magazine.
“Back then we felt like we were being paid very well to have a lot of fun. Somehow it didn’t seem right.
“We don’t deserve a pat on the back. It felt a little wrong to be standing next to people who really gave their lives to good causes.”
Stephen Hawking
Stephen refused a knighthood
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In 2008, the genius Stephen Hawking said he was approached with an offer of knighthood in the late 1990s but turned it down.
It was later said that it was the government’s handling of science funding and cuts.
jon snow
Snow didn’t want the award
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CHANNEL 4)
After refusing an OBE in 2000, Jon Snow directed a 2002 documentary titled Secrets of the Honors System.
He remains critical of the use of “Empire” in our honor system.
“I tried to figure out why I got it, but couldn’t get a clear answer or even figure out who suggested me,” he said afterwards.
Michael Schein
Sheen didn’t want to be a hypocrite
Welsh actor Michael Sheen, who was awarded an OBE back in 2009, gave it back years later.
The star received the title in the 2009 New Year’s Honors for his services to drama, but has opened up about how she returned it a few years later because she didn’t want to be a “hypocrite.”
During an interview with journalist Owen Jones, the Underworld actor said he changed his mind about the award once he started researching Welsh history.
This came about when he was invited to speak at the Learning and Work Institute’s annual Raymond Williams Memorial Lecture, organized in partnership with The Open University in Wales in 2017
Sheen said he meant “absolutely no disrespect” by returning the OBE, adding that he felt “incredibly honored” at the time to receive it.
He added: “I just realized that I would be a hypocrite if I said the things I wanted to say in the lecture about the nature of the relationship between Wales and the British state.”
Nigella Lawson
Nigella didn’t eat it
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The star chef declined the offer of an OBE in 2001.
The TV star, known for her hilarious puns, explained, “I’m not saving lives and I’m not doing anything other than something I absolutely love.”
Skepta
Skepta didn’t want one
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Tottenham native Skepta – real name Joseph Junior Adenuga – says he turned down an MBE for the 2017 New Year’s Awards.
With his song Hypocrisy he dropped the bomb.
In the second verse of Hypocrisy, the grime artist raps, “I just got back from the Ivors/ And look at what we’ve collected/ The MBE was rejected/ Not trying to be accepted.”
John Cleese
John Cleese said it was all ‘silly’
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The Monty Python star was offered a CBE in 1996 but turned it down because he said they were “stupid.”
He turned down a number of offers, including a peerafe from Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown in 1999.
H declined because he felt staying in England during the winter months to fulfill his role as a work colleague was “too high a price” to be in the Lords.
He told The Sunday Telegraph it was offered “not because I was such a wonderful person, but because I had helped them [Lib Dems] a lot of”.
Danny Boyle
Danny Boyle declined an honor
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Getty Images for Universal Pictu)
Danny said it wasn’t for him
Danny Boyle, director and man behind the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, turned down a tribute because he thought it was “wrong”.
“It’s just not me,” he said. He added that thousands were involved in conducting the ceremony.
“You can have these speeches about ‘that’s everyone’s job, blah blah blah,'” he said.
“And you have to mean it, and I meant it, and it’s true, and that’s the only way you can continue something like this: through the efforts of all people.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be invited back to the palace.”
Roald Dahl
Road Dahl was a much-loved author
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory author Roald Dahl declined an OBE at the 1986 New Year’s Awards.
It is believed that he was hoping for a knighthood to raise his status to Sir and his wife to Lady Dahl.
Tragically, the much-loved author died without any honors in 1990.
Other famous faces who turned down the birthday tributes
- CS Lewis, writer (d. 1963), declined CBE in 1952
- Graham Greene, writer (d. 1991), declined CBE in 1956
- JB Priestley, writer (d. 1984), declined peerage in 1965 and became Companion of Honor in 1969
- Francis Bacon, artist (d. 1992), declined CBE in 1960
- Robert Graves, poet (d. 1985), declined CBE 1957 and CH 1984
- CS Forester, writer (d. 1966), declined a CBE in 1953
- Eleanor Farjeon, author (d. 1965), declined OBE in 1959
- John Ireland, composer (d. 1962), declined CBE in 1959
- Major Derek Allhusen, Olympic equestrian medalist (d. 2000), declined MBE in 1969
- Albert Finney declined a CBE in 1980 and a knighthood in 2000
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