I have some work dealings with an individual who proudly post-nominals his email signature with ‘CBE’. My predecessor in my current role got an MBE for her work.
So, never mind taking a bullet for Charlie. Would you accept a MBE/CBE/OBE from old sausage fingers and his crew? In full those are:
Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE)
Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE)
The key word here being ‘Empire’ I feel.
So I would feel I would have to decline. What’s good enough for Bowie and Ballard should be good enough for me.
I have had a day out at a Buck Palace Garden Party, so feel that’s enough for me.
Genuinely interested in anyone who has one. Does it make a difference to the tables you get at restaurants
No, because I’m a Republican. My Father has an OBE and, while I’m proud of his achievements, going to watch him receive it made my skin crawl.
Also not a fan of the numerous people who have loudly bemoaned the sins of Empire/the monarchy and then trooped off to collect their gongs, explaining that it’s essential they’re allowed into the special club so that they can use its powers for good. Convenient and self serving logic.
It’s highly unlikely I’ll ever be in the position make such a decision for myself, but here is Martin Carthy talking about his decision to accept an MBE.
https://carthyonline.wordpress.com/awards/1998-mbe/
I would appreciate the recognition but I would politely decline. Same as Bingo – I cannot bemoan a structure and then, effectively, endorse it. Anything with Empire on is even more troubling.
As an ex-civil servant, there was a fair amount of colleagues that had been so recognised. Some of it was deserved. Some less obviously so. Some seemed to reflect position and relationship more than outputs and effectiveness.
Very likely not. I admired the late Her Madge for her demeanour, and I like William as a person – he seems as decent and genuine as is possible in an ultra privileged way, but the whole idea of that inherited privilege has never sat well.
My family, remaining sister and brother, would however burst with pride and joy for me. They seem to admire the monarchy as far as I can tell and would be beyond delighted for me and family honour and all that jazz. And that’s entirely fair enough.
But. No.
As an aside, one of my pals, a lowly civil servant like myself at the time, doing a good steady unglamorous job, was made an MBE a decade or so ago. Like me, he’s cool 😎, into the music, the arts and all things against The Man, and he was thrilled. And so were all of us for him.
They’re not really decided by the King, but various committees largely made up of people who have themselves accepted honours and will often know the people they then decide to give them to. They also include some of the nominations from the public, to make it look equitable, and check that the overall sex and ethnic makeup reflects the population.
The strange thing is doesn’t seem to change anybody else’s opinion of the recipient. I don’t think anyone starts reading Sir Kazuo or Sir Salman because of their knighthoods.
I couldn’t care less about it, as all it seems to do is satisfy the vanity of the recipients– with the exception of the Lords, who do have political power
Absurd anachronism.
The only people who should be given honours are people like nurses, teachers and those who contribute something to their communities, im(ns)ho.
What really gets my goat are the slabs who whinge endlessly about how bad the honors system is only to turn around and take one as soon as it’s offered (“my mum would have wanted me to!”, “this isn’t for me, it’s for all those who helped me along the way”).
Janet Street Porter is a classic example
I turned down the knighthood offer immediately. As Keith Richards said “I wouldn’t let anyone from that family near me with a sharp stick, never mind a sword”
About 10 years ago, my neighbour accepted a MBE for services to education (she’s a volunteer TA at the local primary school, and campaigns for kids with disabilites – her son is deaf).
I’m not sure it really changed much, except that every time I see her, usually when she’s putting the bins out, I do an extravagant curtsey, and a loud “Ma’am”. She must be sick of it by now…
Yes, where’s the harm? Recgnition would be nice, although “Services to making sh*t comments on the internrt” is unlikely to be gongable.
Maybe it’s my age, but the honours system does feel a bit devalued.
Sir Gareth gets a gong for a semi-final, whereas the players who actually WON in 1966 had to wait several years for recognition.
For all too many, such Honours are for being well-connected and holding down an “important” official role of some sort for a long time.
A certain proportion of them, these days, get given to people whose service to society is genuinely of value and worth noting. These ones are of the most use in bringing attention to what they have been awarded for.
An aquaintence of mine received an MBE a number of years back in recognition of her contribution to social housing in Northern Ireland.
She’s still contributing.
Working on behalf of disadvantaged people of all sorts in the province, as current chief executive of GEMS NI and a member of Belfast City Council’s Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sectoral Advisory Panel.
Not that I would ever be in a position to be nominated, but it would be a no from me.
My overriding impression (mainly from the previous government) is that they are doled out to those who contributed to party coffers or were “friends” of those in power and I would never want to be associated with either of those.
The infra dig types who are desperate for an honor to validate themselves are a clear indication how worthless these gongs are.
The name David Beckham springs to mind
No! Beckham was an outstanding footballer, does a lot of charidee and consistently promotes British interests.
It’s the corrupt political/business ones that devalue it.
@Black-Celebration
It’s his sense of entitlement that gets me.
He’s no more outstanding a footballer or civic-minded a person than previous 100-cap England captains like Billy Wright and, World Cup winner, Bobby Moore.
While both players earned far, far less in their careers on the pitch than Beckham got paid in a month, both men were far too dignified to spit the dummy like DB when not given their bauble
From the Lancs Live website:
The saga surrounding Beckham and the New Year’s Honours list reached a new level seven years ago when alleged leaked emails surfaced. Reports claimed that after being overlooked again, Beckham responded in an email where he said he, “didn’t care about being knighted,” before labelling the committee as “unappreciative c***s”, and describing the omission as “a disgrace.”
While Beckham has suggested some messages were manipulated, he was also accused of slamming the decision to give Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins an OBE in 2017. While blasting the decision, he allegedly said: “For what? Singing at the rugby and going to see the troops.”
https://www.lancs.live/sport/football/football-news/david-beckham-knighthood-king-charles-30681280
Whatever charities Beckham supports, I hope they’re ready to be shafted the way he shafted the LGBTQ community in his endless quest for money and prestige. He’s exactly the kind of person the honours system was built for. 🗑️
I don’t think so, but nobody has ever offered me, either. No parents left to feel proud and my wife and kids aren’t fans of big crown, either. Not my king, all of that, to say nothing of the scraggy residual caul of empire. Can I have the money instead?
Quakers have a testimony to equality which discourages taking honours. It has mainly been respected, except for the likes of Dame Judi Dench, Dame Sheila Hancock, Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Dame Margaret Drabble, Sir Ben Kingsley, Sir Terry Waite…
I’m not holding my breath over what Damon Albarn, Charlie Brooker and Tom Robinson decide if they are ever offered, but I wouldn’t ever consider it myself.
Five people I have worked with closely have received gongs: MBE, OBE, OBE, CBE and a knighthood. I’d say only one OBE was deserved. The organisation that the Sir led did fabulous work but the prize was given to one individual when the whole team should have been recognised.
If it wasn’t good enough for the dame, it isn’t good enough for me.
I probably would. I like to say that I’d reject it cos I’m rock n roll, but I suspect I’d be tugging my forelock like a mad thing and puffing out my chest with vain pride. Only if I think I deserved it, though.
The brits seems to give an awful lot of gongs to a ton of people every year.
I had to go to Swedish wiki to find out if the Swedish king does anything similar, because quite honestly you hardly ever see anything about it in the news (and then only a one line in small print at the end sort of thing).
As I just found out, he gives out five kinds of medals (it doesn’t say how many of each per year, it probably varies and I’m guessing they’re not that many since we never hear about it).
One for “long and faithful service”, one for eminent musicians, actors and authors, one for humanitarian work abroad or at home, one for eminent artists and one for especially valid humanitarian work for the benefit of society. Not sure what the difference in criteria is between the third and the fifth medals.
I don’t think you’d have any use of any of these unless you were invited to a royal party – where else would you walk around wearing a medal?
Thankfully I’m not in any danger of being given any of them.
The Swedes do Nobels, tho, don’t they!
Nothing much to do with the royals though, except they’re called in to hand over the gongs to make it seem classy… 🙂
I worked with a number of people who had received honours. One in particular was an inveterate self-publicist whose linked-in profile was a tissue of exaggeration and distortion. No one knew what he received his MBE for, but he was henceforth known as Major Bell End.
Have a look at LinkedIn posts by career civil servants if you want to see some spectacular self publicity. Mostly incomprehensible to boot.
@Leedsboy
I always wondered exactly what useful purpose LinkedIn served and now the scales have doe falleth from mine eyes
No. But I am a Republican.
Would I accept an Order of the British (and Irish) People (OBIP?), well its very unlikely but probably.
On the other hand a good friend was appointed BEM – a monarchist former naval officer for community work – and it meant a lot to him, and I am well pleased for him.
At work, we have a recognition system that’s accompanied by some cash. Is there a cash equivalent of an MBE instead? I would certainly not bow or scrape to someone to accept an award. I’d be interested to go to one of the ceremonies though! I’m not sure as I could handle the inevitable rules that I assume apply at one.
‘No tongues when kissing Camilla’ is one that I’ve heard.
I’d like to think I’d refuse one if offered in an alternative universe. However one of my old friends who is very anti-establishment accepted a damehood a while back because her colleagues had made great efforts [without her knowing] to get her nominated. What swayed her was being told that the honour would be a great boost to the organisation she runs, which deals with vulnerable people and is chronically underfunded and something of a political football. The title and prestige that came with the gong increased her influence [got invited to be on a lot of committees] and raised the profile and lobbying power of her team. But as she lamented the gong creates a lot of expectations and responsibilities: ‘I can’t get pissed and do the karaoke at the office parties anymore’.
Yes I can see an actual knighthood for a charity boss is a difficult one as you are being honoured really for the charity’s work, and being a knight/dame is worth something to the charity. But the Empire medals don’t I feel make any difference. I’ll cross the Sir Moles of Moseley bridge when I come to it.
I think MBEs and OBEs for charity leaders help with fundraising efforts, as it gives an air of respectability to the charity itself as well as it’s leadership.
This just appeared on the BBC News website.
“New Year Honours: Are Top Recipients Too Posh And Too Southern?”
Yes of course, in my view.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpdx91g00g2o
Strictly dancer Amy Dowden, and celeb* Crohn’s disease documentary maker, has been given a MBE by Chaz. Big up the IBD massive!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2n3e1mrvjo
(*) I’d never heard of her until she appeared in the Crohn’s & Colitis UK charity mag. I don’t watch Strictly: see the cultural blindspots thread.
“Big up the IBD Massive”? Interesting choice of phrase…🙂
I asked Nick Cave on his Red Hand Files page if he’d accept one – he never got back to me.
If “for services to complacency” or “for services to general ineptitude” were categories, I’d consider it.
You may have something. Despite my general refusal, above, I’d be a shoe in for ‘services to being generally and consistently incorrect’.
I’d be in a quandary. And would undoubtedly make the wrong decision.