British film stars Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley and Tom Hardy and Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro are among those receiving honors in the name of Britain’s monarch.
The list published late Friday by Britain’s Cabinet Office includes many receiving honors for merit, service and bravery. The awards will be given out by Queen Elizabeth II or a senior royal acting in her place during investitures at Buckingham Palace.
The list often includes prominent figures — like Thompson, the Oscar-winning actress who has been in the public eye for decades — as well as people who have labored behind the scenes or in academic or charity positions.
The 59-year-old Thompson will become Dame Emma, a high honor that is the female equivalent of becoming a knight. The citation calls her one of Britain’s “most versatile and celebrated actresses.”
Her long list of film roles includes favorites like “The Remains of the Day” — which was written by Ishiguro — “Love Actually” and “Nanny McPhee.” She received the Academy Award for Best Actress for “Howards End” and, as a writer, the Oscar for the best adapted screenplay for “Sense and Sensibility.”
The Queen’s Birthday List, Elizabeth’s official birthday is Saturday and will be marked with the Trooping the Color parade, bestows a knighthood on Mark Rowley for his service while heading the Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism squad during a series of lethal attacks last year. When he retired in March after more than three decades on the force, Prime Minister Theresa May praised Rowley’s dedication to protecting the public.
Ishiguro, who was born in Japan, received a knighthood for his services to literature. He said he was “deeply touched to receive this honor from the nation that welcomed me as a small foreign boy.”
Former Liverpool player and manager Kenny Dalglish, 67, was also knighted for his services to soccer, charity and the city of Liverpool.
Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
The youngest winner was 20-year-old visually impaired alpine skier Menna Fitzpatrick, who was Britain’s most successful competitor in the 2018 Winter Paralympics. The oldest winner was former World War II nurse Rosemary Powell, 103, who was honored for 97 years of charity work.
Both received MBE awards, making them members of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
Rapper and singer Ms. Dynamite also received the same honor under her real name, Niomi McLean-Daley.
Knightley, known for “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Pride and Prejudice,” and other movies, received an OBE award, so she will become an “officer” of the British empire, a slightly higher ranking.
Hardy, star of “Inception” and other movies, received a CBE award, designating him a “commander” of the empire, a still higher designation.
The list also honors the queen’s eye surgeon, Jonathan Jagger, who was made a commander of the Royal Victorian Order. He is a specialist in cataract surgery, but officials have not said if he performed the cataract surgery the queen had done in May.
…