Ringo Starr receives knighthood for his services to music

Beatles drummer honoured at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace

sir_ringo.jpg
(Image credit: John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Beatles drummer Ringo Starr received a knighthood at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace today for his contributions to music.

The Duke of Cambridge bestowed the honour on the Liverpool-born musician.

“It means a lot actually,” Starr told the BBC. “It means recognition for the things we've done. I was really pleased to accept this.”

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
See more
See more

Starr will join his bandmate Sir Paul McCartney as a knight, 53 years after all four Beatles members received an MBE.

“I was a bit shaky today on my own,” he said.

The 77-year-old joked that he knew exactly what he'd do with his medal, saying he’d “be wearing it at breakfast.”

McCartney was knighted in 1997, but Starr was said to “have given up all hope” of his own knighthood until he received a letter from the Palace last year, says The Sun.

George Harrison and John Lennon will never be able to receive knighthoods because recipients have to be alive to accept the honour according to current rules.

Other people receiving honours at Tuesday's ceremony included former Scottish rugby player John “Ian” McLauchlan, authors Jilly Cooper and Michael Morpurgo, Welsh rugby player Sam Warburton and foster carer Anne Shaw.

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.