List of people who have declined a British honour

The following is a partial list of people who have declined a British honour, such as a knighthood or other grade of honour. In recent times most refusals have been for appointment to the Order of the British Empire.^[1]

In most cases, the offer of an honour was rejected privately; others were rejected publicly, or accepted and then returned later based upon future events, as with John Lennon and Rabindranath Tagore. Nowadays, potential recipients are contacted by government officials, well before any public announcement is made, to confirm in writing whether they wish to be put forward for an honour, thereby avoiding friction or controversy. However, some let it be known the offer was declined, and there are also occasional leaks from official sources.

Reasons for rejection

People may reject state honours for various reasons, among which are:

Opposition to specific governmental actions or policy
Republicanism and anti-monarchism
Inappropriate due to the nature of the individual's work or position, or would attract unwanted attention
Lack of pretension
Anti-imperialism or general unwillingness to be associated with the former British Empire (especially with regards to the Order of the British Empire)
Inadequately recognises the individual or a spouse, partner, friend or colleague.
The archaic nature of the honour, notably with regards to peerages, knighthoods and baronetcies, or that honours conferring titles are meaningless in a modern society
Feelings that the honours system both reflects and reinforces social class distinctions, and diminishes the chance of a more equal and fairer society
Biased nature of the honours system, or feelings that undeserving people have been decorated
To hide real wealth and business connections from the public realm

Some potential recipients have rejected one honour then accepted another one (such as Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Alfred Hitchcock^[2]), or have initially refused an honour then accepted it, or have accepted one honour then declined another (such as actor Robert Morley and actress Vanessa Redgrave^[3]), or refused in the hope of another higher distinction (Roald Dahl refused being decorated as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE),^[2] allegedly because he wanted a knighthood so that his wife would be entitled to the title "Lady Dahl").^[4]

Since John Key restored the New Zealand Order of Merit to the pre-2000 British Monarch system, Richie McCaw has repeatedly declined knighthood after winning the 2011 Rugby World Cup. In December 2011, Prime Minister John Key revealed that he had asked McCaw about the possibility of a knighthood in the 2012 New Year Honours, but that McCaw had turned it down. According to Key, "He made the call that he's still in his playing career and it didn't feel quite right for him, that day where he's no longer on the pitch may be the right time for him." No formal offer was ultimately made. McCaw was appointed a member of New Zealand's highest honour, the Order of New Zealand, which does not bestow a title, in the 2016 New Year Honours. The honour surpassed the knighthood he had previously turned down prior to his retirement because only 20 living New Zealanders can gain membership at any one time.^[5]^[6]

Sometimes a potential recipient will refuse a knighthood or peerage, but will accept an honour that does not bestow a title (or precedence), such as the Order of Merit (OM) or the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH): Bertrand Russell, E. M. Forster, Paul Scofield, Doris Lessing, Harold Pinter (although Pinter's widow, Lady Antonia Fraser, was later appointed a DBE),^[7] David Hockney, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Augustus John, Francis Crick and Paul Dirac are examples of this last category. The artist Francis Bacon refused all honours, allegedly on the grounds they "were so ageing". The record for refusing the most state honours is held by the artist L. S. Lowry. Some people have also rejected a life peerage.

Identities of those who declined an honour or title

Many modern examples were identified in December 2003 when a confidential document containing the names of more than 300 such people was leaked to The Sunday Times,^[8] but many more have become known since then.

Honours declined

Kingdom

In 1657, Oliver Cromwell, already Head of State and Head of Government, was offered the crown by Parliament as part of a revised constitutional settlement; he had been "instrumental" in abolishing the monarchy after the English Civil War. Cromwell agonised for six weeks over the offer. In a speech on 13 April 1657, he gave his opinion that the office of monarch, once abolished, should stay so: "I would not seek to set up that which Providence hath destroyed and laid in the dust, and I would not build Jericho again."^[9]

Dukedom

Marquessate

Earldom

Viscountcy

Barony

Life peerage (barony)

Baronetcy

Knighthood (Knight Bachelor)

Appointment to the Order of the Bath

Further information: Order of the Bath

As Knight Grand Cross (GCB)

Admiral George Cranfield Berkeley in 1812, expecting a peerage; he later settled for the KCB in 1813; elevated to GCB in 1815.^[71]

As honorary Knight Commander (KCB)

Živojin Mišić, Serbian and Yugoslavian field marshal (1915)
Stepa Stepanović, Serbian and Yugoslavian field marshal (1918)^[72]

As Companion (CB)

Colonel Allday V. Kerrison (in 1955)
Bernard O'Brien, scientist (in 1956)

Appointment to the Order of Merit (OM)

A. E. Housman, poet and classical scholar (in 1929)^[73]
George Bernard Shaw, playwright, critic, and polemicist (in 1946; Shaw replied that "merit" in authorship could only be determined by the posthumous verdict of history).^[63] Shaw had wanted to decline the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925, but accepted it at his wife's behest as honouring Ireland. He did not reject the monetary award, requesting it be used to finance translation of Swedish books into English.^[74]
H. G. Wells, writer.

Appointment to the Order of the Star of India

Further information: Order of the Star of India

As Knight Commander (KCSI)

V. S. Srinivasa Sastri (in 1928; accepted appointment as a Companion of Honour (CH) in 1930)^[75]

Appointment to the Order of St Michael and St George

Further information: Order of St Michael and St George

As honorary Knight Grand Cross (GCMG)

Živojin Mišić, Serbian and Yugoslavian field marshal (1917)

As honorary Knight Commander (KCMG)

Radomir Putnik, Serbian field marshal (1915)
Petar Bojović, Serbian and Yugoslavian field marshal (1918)
Pavle Jurišić Šturm, Serbian and Yugoslavian general (1918)
George Trefgarne, 1st Baron Trefgarne, politician (1951) ^[76]

As honorary Companion (CMG)

Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, Ceylonese civil servant (1946).

As honorary Dame Companion (CMG)

Milunka Savić, Serbian and Yugoslavian sergeant (1918)

Appointment to the Order of the Indian Empire

Further information: Order of the Indian Empire

As a Companion (CIE)

Narayan Malhar Joshi (1879–1955), Member of the Bombay Corporation (1919–1922) and Indian Legislative Assembly; delegate to the ILO and Round Table Conferences (refused in 1921, on the grounds he was too poor for the honour)^[77]^[78]

Appointment to the Royal Victorian Order

Further information: Royal Victorian Order

As a Commander (CVO)

Craig Murray, former United Kingdom Ambassador to Uzbekistan (had previously declined appointments as LVO and OBE),^[79] in 1999, for reasons of Scottish nationalism and republicanism.
Alyson Bailes, diplomat and academic

Appointment as a Companion of Honour (CH)

Further information: Order of the Companions of Honour

Francis Bacon, artist (in 1977; previously declined appointment as CBE in 1960)^[2]
Robert Graves, poet and novelist (in 1984; had previously declined appointment as CBE in 1957)^[2]
L. S. Lowry RA, artist (in 1972 and 1976; had previously declined appointment as OBE in 1955 and CBE in 1961 and a knighthood in 1968; holds the record for the most honours declined)^[2]
Ben Nicholson, artist (in 1965)
Philip Noel-Baker, former Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations, 1965 New Year Honours^[31] (accepted a life peerage in 1977)
J. B. Priestley, writer (in 1969)^[25]
Leonard Woolf, writer/publisher (in 1966)

Appointment to the Order of the British Empire

Further information: Order of the British Empire

As a Knight Grand Cross (GBE)

Charles Wilson, 1st Baron Moran (in 1962) – offered for services as chairman of a government committee but declined, commenting it was "the sort of thing given to civil servants".^[80]
Sir Harry Shackleton (in 1951)

As a Knight Commander (KBE)

T. E. Lawrence, Arabist, archaeologist, soldier, aircraftsman, writer (in October 1918)
Calouste Gulbenkian, philanthropist (in 1951)
J. H. Penson, botanist (1951)

As a Dame Commander (DBE)

Dorothy Hodgkin, Scientist, Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1964 (later accepted OM)
Doris Lessing, CH, author (declined DBE in 1992, stating it was in the name of a non-existent Empire; also declined appointment as OBE in 1977; accepted appointment as CH as it is does not carry a title, in 2000)^[2]^[81] Nobel Prize for Literature
Geraldine McEwan, actress (in 2002; had previously declined appointment as OBE in 1986)
Vanessa Redgrave, actress, accepted CBE in 1967; declined damehood in 1999^[2]^[82]
Dorothy Wedderburn, academic, Principal of Royal Holloway and Bedford College London, 1980–90

As a Commander (CBE)

Richard Ithamar Aaron, philosopher, Professor of Philosophy, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth (in 1962)^[31]
Ian Albery, theatre producer^[3]
W. Godfrey Allen, architect; Surveyor of the Fabric of Gloucester Cathedral (in 1957)^[31]
Nick Anstee, former Lord Mayor of London (in 2010)
Francis Bacon, artist (in 1960;^[31] later declined appointment as CH in 1977)
C. H. Bagenal, scientist (in 1966)
J. G. Ballard, author (in 2003; "the honours system is a Ruritanian charade that helps to prop up the top-heavy monarchy.")^[2]
Nancy Banks-Smith, television critic (in 1970)^[2]
Julian Barnes, novelist
Wilfred Beard, General Secretary, United Patternmakers' Association (in 1959)^[31]
Clive Bell, art critic (in 1953)
Alan Bennett, playwright (in 1988; later declined a knighthood in 1996)
Michael Billington, drama critic
Michael Blakemore, playwright; theatre director
Honor Blackman, actress (in 2002;^[2] she is a signed supporter of Republic, The Campaign for an Elected Head of State, the UK campaign to replace the monarchy with a republic)^[83]
John Boorman, film director
David Bowie, musician (in 2000; later declined a knighthood in 2003)^[2]
John Carey, academic and literary critic
Julie Christie, stage/film actress
John Cleese, actor/comedian (in 1996; he reportedly thought it was "silly", and later declined a life peerage)^[2]^[22]
Prunella Clough, painter (in 1979;^[31] previously declined OBE in 1968)
John Cole, journalist (in 1993)^[2]
David Cornwell (uses John le Carré as nom de plume), author
Francis Crick, scientist, co-discoverer of DNA (in 1963;^[31] later also refused a knighthood, but finally accepted appointment as OM in 1991)
Julian A. Davies, chemist (in 1968)
L.O. Doughty-Wylie, nursing administrator (in 1958)
Bernie Ecclestone, owner of Formula One commercial rights (in 1996)^[2]
Brian Eno, musician (in 2007)
Albert Finney, actor (in 1980; also declined a knighthood in 2000)
C. S. Forester, novelist (in 1953)
Michael Frayn novelist and dramatist (in 1989; later declined a knighthood in 2003)
Stephen Frears, film director
Lucian Freud, artist (in 1977; later accepted appointment as CH in 1983, and OM in 1993)^[2]
Jack Gallagher, historian, Beit Professor of Commonwealth History, Oxford
Robert Graves, poet and novelist (in 1957; later declined appointment as CH in 1984)
Graham Greene, author (in 1956) (later accepted appointment as CH and OM, neither of which are titles granting rank or precedence)
Trevor Griffiths, playwright
John Gross, Author, literary critic and journalist
Claude Herbert Grundy, Queen's Remembrancer (in 1964)
Jocelyn Herbert, stage designer (in 1981)
Trevor Howard, film and stage actor in 1982^[82]
Elgar Howarth, conductor and composer^[3]
John Ireland, composer (in 1959)
Leon Kossoff, painter^[3]
Walter Lassally, cinematographer
T. E. Lawrence, World War I British Army officer, archaeologist, Arabist, RAF aircraftsman, and writer, popularly known as "Lawrence of Arabia"; later declined a knighthood.
F.R. Leavis, literary critic. Refused in 1966; but later accepted appointment as CH.
James Lees Milne, writer and expert on English country houses and long-time associate of the National Trust (in 1993)
C. S. Lewis, author, theologian, Oxford professor (in 1951, declined in order to avoid association with any political issues)^[84]
Ken Livingstone, former Mayor of London, due to be honoured for his services to the 2012 Olympics (turned down an honour in the 2013 New Years Honours due to his belief that politicians should not get such awards)^[85]
L. S. Lowry, artist (in 1961; had previously declined appointment as OBE in 1955; declined a knighthood in 1968, and later appointment as CH in 1972 and 1976; holds the record for the most honours declined)^[2]
Philip MacDonald, author (in 1952); he thought the honours system added to the class-ridden nature of English society.
Malcolm McDowell, actor (in 1984)
George Melly, musician, writer, critic, artist and raconteur (in 2001)^[2]
Mary Midgley, philosopher
Helen Mirren, actress (in 1996; later accepted a damehood in 2003)^[86]
Stanley Morison (in 1962; also declined a knighthood)
Peter Nichols, playwright
Ben Nicholson, artist (in 1955)
Seán O'Casey, playwright (in 1963)
Gareth Peirce, solicitor^[87] (gazetted CBE in 1999, but later she returned its insignia, blaming herself and apologizing to then PM Tony Blair for the misunderstanding)
Lionel Penrose, Professor of Medical Genetics, University College London, 1945–65 (in 1967)
Ronald Pickup, actor
Cedric Price, architect
Karel Reisz, Czech-born film director
Andrew Robertson, Professor of Mechanical Engineering University of Bristol (in 1965); reportedly disapproved of the honours system
R. E. Robinson, historian (in 1953) later Beit Professor of Commonwealth History, Oxford.
Paul Rogers, actor
Mark Rylance, actor
Robert Simpson, composer
Savenaca Siwatibau, Fijian academic
David Storey, playwright and novelist
Frank Swinnerton, novelist and critic (in 1969)
Barbara Tizard, educational psychologist. Professor of Educational Psychology, Institute of Education, London.
Sue Townsend novelist and playwright
Claire Tomalin, writer^[3]
Polly Toynbee, Guardian columnist, in 2000^[2]
Leslie Waddington, art gallery chairman^[3]
Evelyn Waugh, novelist (in 1959, wanted a knighthood)^[2]
Paul Weller, musician (in 2007)
Garfield Weston, businessman ^[3]
Hugo Young, journalist

As an Officer (OBE)

Peter Alliss, golfer and commentator (in 2002)^[2]
Lindsay Anderson, theatre and film director
Alyson Bailes, diplomat and political scientist
Nancy Banks-Smith, Guardian journalist, declined OBE, 1970.^[82]
Leonard Barden, British chess champion and writer (in 1985)
Michael Bogdanov, theatre director
Jim Broadbent, actor (in 2002)^[2]
Eleanor Bron, actor and writer
Jez Butterworth, playwright, 2016
Caryl Churchill, playwright
Prunella Clough, painter (in 1968), later declined CBE in 1979^[31]
Andrew Cruickshank, actor (in 1967)
Roald Dahl, author (in 1986, wanted a knighthood)^[2]
Eleanor Farjeon, author and poet (in 1959)
Dawn French, comedian and actress (in 2001)^[3]
Patrick French, author, biographer, in 2003
Pam Gems, dramatist/playwright
Hughie Green, TV personality, (in 1960)
Graham Greene, author (in 1956) later also declined the CBE^[2]
Laurence Harbottle, services to theatre^[3]
George Harrison, former Beatle (in 2000), reportedly felt he deserved a knighthood, as his fellow ex-Beatle Paul McCartney had been awarded in 1997^[88]
Tony Harrison, poet and playwright
Hamish Henderson, poet and folklorist (in 1983, in protest against the Thatcher government's nuclear policies)
H. F. Hutchinson, art historian (in 1966)
Hattie Jacques, actress/comedian (in 1974)
Jonathan Kent, theatre director^[3]
Estelle Kohler, actress
Nigella Lawson, chef, gourmand, television personality/presenter; cookery writer^[3]
Doris Lessing, author (in 1977; later declined appointment as DBE in 1992, because it is in the name of a non-existent Empire; accepted appointment as CH in 2000)^[81]
Ken Loach, film director (in 1977)
L. S. Lowry, artist (declined OBE in 1955, a CBE in 1961, a knighthood in 1968 and appointment as CH, twice, in 1972 and 1976; holds the record for the most honours declined)^[2]
W. J. M. Mackenzie professor of Political Science (declined OBE in 1951)
John McCormick, Controller, BBC Scotland^[3]
Ian McDiarmid, actor, theatre director^[3]
Geraldine McEwan, actress in 1986 (later declined DBE in 2002)
Paul McGuigan, filmmaker
Kenneth McKellar, tenor^[89]
I. D. Margary, historian (in 1960)
Hank Marvin, guitarist (The Shadows)
Doreen Massey, Professor of Geography
Alan Mattingly, Ramblers' Association^[3]
Stanley Middleton, novelist and educationalist (in 1979)
Ernest Milton, classical actor (in 1965)
Craig Murray, former United Kingdom Ambassador to Uzbekistan (had previously declined appointment as LVO; later declined appointment as CVO)
Max Newman, mathematician and wartime codebreaker (in 1946, in protest against the inadequacy of Alan Turing's OBE)^[90]
I. Newton, pianist (in 1964)
Bill Nighy, actor
T. Parry author and librarian (in 1959)
Iorwerth Peate poet and scholar (in 1963)
Eric Porter, actor (in 1969)
T. F. D. Rippingham architect (in 1951)
V. M. Sabherwall, Birmingham industrialist
Anthony Sampson, author/journalist
Jennifer Saunders, comedian and actress (in 2001)
Nitin Sawhney, musician (in 2007, for ethical reasons) "I wouldn't like anything with the word 'empire' after my name."^[91]
Jon Snow, newscaster (after having declined, investigated and presented a Channel 4 documentary, Secrets of the Honours System^[92])
Katherine Whitehorn, journalist, later accepted a CBE after retirement from regular journalism.
Bransby Williams, actor/monologuist (in 1955)
Grace Williams, composer
Kenneth Williams, actor and comedian. "When offered something which obviously isn't worth the price ... we still have the right to say 'No thanks'" (1969)
Michael Winner, film director (in 2006; saying, "An OBE is what you get if you clean the toilets well at King's Cross station."^[93])
Susannah York, film and stage actress
Benjamin Zephaniah, poet (in 2010), stating: "I get angry when I hear the word 'empire'; it reminds me of slavery, it reminds me of thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised."^[94]

As a Member (MBE)

John Allen, political adviser to Prime Minister Harold Wilson, declined honour in 1969
Major Derek Allhusen, Olympic equestrian gold medallist, 1969 New Year Honours (accepted CVO in 1984 as Standard Bearer of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms)^[31]
Marcel Aurousseau, Australian geologist, 1956 New Year Honours^[31]
R. Cade, founder of the Minack Theatre, Cornwall (in 1969)
Patrick Collins, sports journalist and author^[3]
Joseph Corré, co-founder of Agent Provocateur (in 2007, claiming his belief that then-Prime Minister Tony Blair was "morally corrupt".^[95])
Emer Rose Crangle, aid worker (in 1999)
Edward Tegla Davies, Wesleyan Methodist minister and a popular Welsh language writer (in 1963)^[31]
John Dunn, broadcaster^[3]
Howard Gayle, first black footballer to play for Liverpool FC. Declined the MBE in 2016 saying it would be "a betrayal" to Africans who suffered at the hands of the British Empire
Marjorie Hebden, declined MBE for services to the Malvern Museum^[3]
David Heckels, declined MBE for charitable services to the arts^[3]
Dr. Bob Holman, community activist in Easterhouse, 2012 birthday honours.^[96]
Gwendoline Laxon, declined MBE for services to charity^[3]
Susan Loppert, art historian^[3]
John Lydon, musician (formerly known as "Johnny Rotten")
John Pandit aka Pandit G, musician, 2002, does not believe in the honours system, says acknowledgement should be given by funding projects^[3]^[97]
Doris Purnell, declined MBE for services to drama^[3]
John Sales, head gardener^[3]
Joan Smith, journalist, declined MBE as it was counter to the views she had spoken about in her career, i.e. atheism, feminism and republicanism.
T. W. Taylor schoolteacher (in 1957)
Jonzi D, writer, choreographer and rap artist, declined MBE for services to the arts, saying subsequently: "I am diametrically opposed to the idea of empire. Man, I'm a Star Wars fan – empire is bad."^[98]
Alan Watkins, journalist, political columnist
Rachel Whiteread, artist in 1997^[82]

Renouncing an honour

As no official provision exists for (unilaterally) renouncing an honour, any such act is always unofficial, and the record of the appointment in the London Gazette stands. Nevertheless, the physical insignia can be returned to the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood — though even this act is purely symbolic, as replacement insignia may be purchased for a nominal sum. Any recipient can also request that the honour not be used officially, e.g. Donald Tsang, ex-Chief Executive of Hong Kong, was knighted in 1997 but has not used the title since the handover to China.^[99]

Those who have returned insignia include:

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, journalist (returned MBE insignia in 2003 in her view of "a growing spirit of republicanism and partly in protest at the Labour government, particularly its conduct of the war in Iraq")
Roy Bailey, folk singer (returned MBE insignia in August 2006 in protest at the British Government's foreign policy in Lebanon and Palestine)
Carla Lane, television writer (appointed OBE in 1989; returned insignia in 2002 in protest at the appointment of CBE of the managing director of Huntingdon Life Sciences due to the company's reputed animal testing)
John Lennon, musician (returned MBE insignia in 1969; returned with letter that read, "I am returning this MBE in protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam, and against 'Cold Turkey' slipping down the charts.")
Gareth Peirce, solicitor (gazetted CBE in 1999, but later she returned its insignia, blaming herself and apologizing to then Prime Minister Tony Blair for the misunderstanding)
Narindar Saroop, Soldier and Tory politician. Returned CBE in 2016 in disgust at the 'Dishonours List of David Cameron "showering peerages, knighthoods and othe rewards on friends and party backers."
Susan Wighton, AIDS worker (returned MBE insignia in 2006 in protest at the British Government's Middle East foreign policies)

Knights who have "renounced" their knighthoods include:

Maharajkumar of Vizianagram, cricketer (knighted in 1936; renounced knighthood in 1947 upon India's independence)
Rabindranath Tagore, author and poet and Nobel Prize Winner in Literature, 1913 (knighted in 1915; renounced knighthood in 1919 in protest over the Jallianwala Bagh massacre)
C. P. Ramaswami Iyer, lawyer, parliamentarian and administrator (knighted in 1926 with the KCIE and again in 1939 with the KCSI; renounced both knighthoods in 1948 following Indian independence)
Khwaja Nazimuddin, nobleman, administrator and politician who served as the Governor-General of Pakistan from 1948 to 1951 and as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1951–53 (knighted in 1934 with the KCIE; renounced knighthood in 1946 due to his personal belief in independence from Britain)

Declining a baronetcy (Bt)

Many offers of baronetcies have been declined from their inception, as this honour was one way, until recent times, for the Crown to raise money from landed gentry families. When a baronetcy becomes vacant on the death of a holder, the heir may choose not to register the proofs of succession, effectively declining the honour. The Official Roll of Baronets is kept at the Home Office by the Registrar of the Baronetage. Anyone who considers that he is entitled to be entered on the Roll may petition the Crown through the Home Secretary. Anyone succeeding to a baronetcy therefore must exhibit proofs of succession to the Home Secretary. A person who is not entered on the Roll will not be addressed or mentioned as a baronet or accorded precedence as a baronet. The baronetcy can be revived at any time on provision of acceptable proofs of succession, by, say, the son of a son who has declined to register the proofs of succession.^[100] Around 83 baronetcies are currently listed as awaiting proofs of succession. Notable "refuseniks" include Jonathon Porritt, lately of Friends of the Earth, and journalist Ferdinand Mount.

The Cabinet Office disclosed on 24 January 2012 the refusal of a baronetcy in recent times by Sir Edwin Plowden, KCB, KBE (later created a life peer (1959)).

References

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