TONIGHT’S THE KNIGHT!
Stewart joins Jamie Murray, Vera Lynn and Ant and Dec on honours list
LOTHARIO rocker Rod Stewart becomes ‘Sir Roderick’ today in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
The veteran rocker said that it was a ‘monumental honour’ as it was announced that he, Jamie Murray, Dame Vera Lynn and Ant and Dec have all been recognised in celebration of the Monarch’s 90th birthday.
Last night a lengthy list of all those honoured was released and named politicians, academics, writers, fundraisers and charity workers among those due to receive medals.
Astronaut Tim Peake was one of those, and became the first person to receive an honour while in space.
Rod Stewart, full name Roderick David Stewart, whose father was from Edinburgh, received a knighthood for his services to music and charity.
The honour caps an extraordinary lifetime of glamour for the 71-year-old after 62 hit singles, six number-ones, 100million record sales, a £160million fortune, three wives, and eight children by five women.
The Grammy and Brit award winner said that he was delighted to be honoured and joked that he would ‘wear it well’ – the title of one of his hits.
Famed as much for his gravelly voice as his luxuriant hairstyle and skin-tight trousers, Stewart is at last on a par with his old rival Sir Elton John, who got his knighthood in 1998.
Sir Rod, who is married to model Penny Lancaster, said: ‘I’ve led a wonderful life and have had a tremendous career thanks to the generous support of the great British public. This monumental honour has topped it off and I couldn’t ask for anything more. I thank Her Majesty and promise to “wear it well”.’
He leads a list of hundreds of Scots, including tennis ace Jamie Murray who will join his brother as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to his sport and charity.
This year the 30-year-old won the men’s double title at the Australian Open, and was part of the Davis Cup winning team – the first British team to win the competition in almost 80 years.
Glasgow-born tennis player and captain of the successful Davis Cup team Leon Smith will also receive an OBE.
Former Labour MP for Midlothian David Hamilton has been given a knighthood for political and parliamentary services. A former miner, he spent two months in jail on remand during the strike in the 1980s before being cleared of an alleged assault.
And Lord Smith of Kelvin will be made a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, which experts says is ‘conferred on persons for having done conspicuous national service’. Following the 2014 independence referendum, Lord Smith was tasked by David Cameron with chairing the cross-party commission on Scottish devolution.
The Smith Commission produced a package of recommendations which have led to new tax and welfare powers being devolved to Holyrood.
Another Scot to be honoured is Professor Sue Black, from Dundee University, who is to become a Dame. The 55-year-old, from Inverness, is one of the world’s leading experts in forensic anthropology.
She worked in Kosovo to help families recover the remains of their loved ones who were found in mass graves, and was part of a team sent to help with the identification of victims following the Asian tsunami in 2004.
Last night she said: ‘I am deeply honoured to receive a damehood, and frankly more than a little embarrassed.
‘We do not do this kind of work at Dundee to receive honours, we are absolutely committed to providing the best education in forensic science and using our research to provide the tools and techniques which can best serve criminal investigations, historical cases and mass events such as natural disasters.’
Forces’ sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn said she was ‘surprised’ and ‘honoured’ to be given another accolade. She also became a Companion of Honour, joining the likes of Sir David Attenborough, Dame Maggie Smith and Stephen Hawking.
The 99-year-old, whose songs brought hope during the darkest days of the Second World War, said: ‘I was very surprised. I felt very greatly honoured to be given a damehood and never expected to receive anything else. So for Her Majesty to bestow a further accolade on me is very unexpected and I feel even more honoured.’
In her 20s, Dame Vera played a huge role in keeping up the spirits of a British civilian population suffering under the Blitz with her hits including We’ll Meet Again and I’ll Be Seeing You. She travelled thousands of miles, often at great personal risk, to entertain troops.
Meanwhile Ant and Dec, the royals’ favourite television presenters, have been rewarded with OBEs – and said it was the achievement their ‘mams’ will be most proud of them for. The Geordie duo, who have a close relationship with Prince Charles after years of making programmes with him, said it was a shock to receive gongs.
Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, both 40, said in a joint statement: ‘We are just two ordinary lads from the west end of Newcastle.
‘We hope us receiving this honour can inspire young people to chase their dreams and believe that anything is possible.’
They hosted both The Queen’s 90th Birthday Celebration, in May, and the 40 Years of The Prince’s Trust documentary last year.
Actor Brian Blessed, who receives an OBE for services to the arts and charity, said: ‘This is a complete surprise. I am absolutely delighted. It is marvellous that the son of a Yorkshire coal miner should be given such an honour.’
Among the hundreds of ‘ordinary people’ to receive a gong is grandmother Jessie Hartley, who receives an OBE for 46 years of service as a postmistress and more than 20 years as a registrar in Burra, Shetland.
Yesterday she said: ‘I’m chuffed and very proud, but I am a little embarrassed.
‘I was just doing my job to the best of my ability.’
‘I promise to wear it well’ ‘We are just two ordinary lads’