The Royalist - Why It's Not Unusual For Sir Tom To Be At The Palace

Why It's Not Unusual For Sir Tom To Be At The Palace

Written by Joanne Leyland

Saturday, 31 December 2005

There'll be a galaxy of stars walking down the red carpet in the Ballroom at Buckingham Palace in the coming months as yet another host of celebrities head the New Year's Honours List. Topping the bill is singer Tom Jones, who receives a knighthood.

The 65-year-old Welsh star and housewives favourite, whose hits include Delilah and It's Not Unusual, regularly appears at Royal command performances, including the annual Prince's Trust Party In The Park and the Royal Variety show.

Robbie Coltrane, the larger than life Scottish star of the Harry Potter films and TV police drama Cracker is awarded an OBE, as are celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, actress Imelda Staunton and The Kumar's At No. 42 comedy star Sanjeev Bhaskar. In recent times Bhaskar has become an Ambassador for Prince Charles's Prince's Trust, a role which has seen him become a friend and ally of the Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, having attended April's royal wedding with his own new wife and co-star, Meera Syal.

To the surprise of many, popular British TV star and all-round entertainer Bruce Forsyth, the 77-year-old host of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, is awarded a CBE...a surprise because his career has spanned over 60 years and so, as one of the country's best-loved and most recognisable TV stars, many are wondering why he, like so many of his compatriots, hasn't been awarded a knighthood?

As expected, the whole of the Ashes winning England cricket team have been given awards. OBEs go to captain Michael Vaughan and England head coach Duncan Fletcher, whilst the rest of the team, including fast bowler Freddie Flintoff (the 2005 BBC Sports Personality of the Year) receive MBEs.

Now while we always hear much about all those who've accepted honours, for a long time we weren't told who turned down these awards. However, it's now become public knowledge that quite a few very well known stars of the entertainment industry have, indeed, refused what are probably amongst some of the most prestigious awards in the world.

Firmly standing by his conviction that the British honours system is "a disease which perpetuates snobbery", film and stage actor Albert Finney — already a rarity in the world of luvviedom as he has neither an agent nor a manager — turned down a CBE in 1980, followed twenty years later by a refusal to accept a knighthood.

Others who are alleged to have turned down honours include pop star David Bowie, celebrity chef Nigella Lawson (a somewhat surprising fact considering she is the daughter of a man once at the very heart of the British Establishment, her father being Margaret Thatcher's former Chancellor Lord Nigel Lawson), Kenneth Branagh (who starred in the title role of Henry V and is another celebrity friend of the Prince of Wales), Monty Python and Fawlty Towers star John Cleese, and actresses Vanessa Redgrave and Honor Blackman.

In the mid-1990s, the-then Conservative Prime Minister John Major — who himself rose to the top of the Establishment despite his working class background — attempted to overhaul the Honours System by announcing he wished to give more awards to the man and woman on the street, the very people who are, in essence, the backbone of the country and its national services.

However, sadly it continues to be the case that it is primarily only those who already enjoy so much publicity and acclaim — the celebrities — who take the limelight each time an Honours List is announced at the very end of the year and the second week of June (the Queen's Birthday Honours List).

This year, however, there are a number of worthy recipients away from the entertainment industry, including many people hugely deserving of their awards, having offered support and help to victims in the aftermath of the July the 7th terrorist bomb attacks on London.

Keep in mind that, although the recipients are awarded their medals by the Queen or, if she is unavailable, Prince Charles at the many investitures which take place inside Buckingham Palace each year, the Honours List is awarded by a panel overseen by the Government of the day. This means the public have, sadly, become somewhat wary of the system as newspaper headlines repeatedly claim that, in particular, very rich business figures have been awarded honours (usually knighthoods) allegedly as a 'reward' for having given substantial donations to the ruling political party of the day.

Nevertheless, Investitures do continue to play a major part in the Royal calendar and often offer us some rather colourful images and unforgettable stories.

The Queen may be hoping there isn't a repeat of an incident which took place in front of the world's Press thirteen years ago when she awarded colourful fashion designer and the mother of Punk, Vivienne Westwood, an OBE.

In 2006 Vivienne, ex-wife of Malcolm McLaren (the man who brought the world the Sex Pistols), will be back at the Palace as she's been awarded a Damehood. Let us hope it truly has made her a Lady as, when Vivienne last attended a royal Investiture, she twirled around before the cameras in the forecourt of the Palace and revealed that she hadn't bothered to put on any underwear!

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