WWTBAM Bored

Every story about Ted Kennedy's recognition from the Queen of England made a point of saying it was an "honorary" knighthood.

Nowadays, is there anything other than an "honorary" knighthood?

I mean, it's not like a Brit gets dubbed by the Queen, and then she says, "Ok, here's your armour, lance and horse. Get to work."

Non-Americans get an "honourary" knighthood.

LOL! I just had an image of Sir Paul McCartney jousting against Sir Mick Jagger, with Sirs Elton John and Andrew Lloyd Webber on their horses waiting for their turn.

gsabc wrote:LOL! I just had an image of Sir Paul McCartney jousting against Sir Mick Jagger, with Sirs Elton John and Andrew Lloyd Webber on their horses waiting for their turn.

If Elton asks you to joust, check which weapon he's using. Just sayin'....

I just asked my boss about this (he's in for the week from the UK).

Honorary knighthood is bestowed upon non-UK citizens...and the major difference is, Ted can't call himself "Sir".

Jeemie wrote:I just asked my boss about this (he's in for the week from the UK).

Honorary knighthood is bestowed upon non-UK citizens...and the major difference is, Ted can't call himself "Sir".

Yes, but what makes something "honorary" is that there aren't any responsibilities attached. Subjects of the Queen who get knighted don't have to do anything, even though they get to be called "Sir." All knighthood is, is honorary.

Just add "honorary knighthood" to the Department of Redundancy Department.

I have so many different MM's I could use in this thread, I don't know where to begin.....

lb13

That won't stop some from referring to him as Sir Teddy of Chappaquiddick

And who said chivalry was dead?


Mary Jo was unavailable for comment.

see any thread can become political

themanintheseersuckersuit wrote:That won't stop some from referring to him as Sir Teddy of Chappaquiddick

And who said chivalry was dead?


Mary Jo was unavailable for comment.

see any thread can become political

It was already political, because of Kennedy.

Any thread can become....stupid?

littlebeast13 wrote:I have so many different MM's I could use in this thread, I don't know where to begin.....

lb13

Just don't go in the direction of the vague mini jousting post.

It's like saying adopted daughter.

peacock2121 wrote:It's like saying adopted daughter.

It's my turn to say, "HUH?!?"

TheCalvinator24 wrote:

peacock2121 wrote:It's like saying adopted daughter.

It's my turn to say, "HUH?!?"

Okay, maybe not like, but it annoys me the same as I sense nitrah is annoyed.

I see no reason that anyone ever has to say adopted daughter - she is a daughter. What's with the adjective? What's with the description of how one got there. C-Section daughter - let's do that one, or vaginal birth daughter - that one is a good one too.

Why say honorary knight when he is a knight?

How's that for a button pushed rant?

themanintheseersuckersuit wrote:That won't stop some from referring to him as Sir Teddy of Chappaquiddick

And who said chivalry was dead?


Mary Jo was unavailable for comment.

see any thread can become political

You mean criminal.

From Wikipedia:

Being officially knighted entails swearing allegience to the Queen, so non-Brits can't be knighted and called "Sir" or "Dame." Hence the term, honorary knight.

There are several orders of knighthood, from The Order of the Garter (the highest) on down, and most of them have very exclusive rules for eleigibility.

The highest Order that is available to foreigners is the Order of the Bath, which is awarded to visiting heads of state such as Reagan or military officials such as Eisenhower, Colin Powell, and Schwarzkopf. British honorees are usually high-level military officers and civil servants.

Actors, sports figures, scientists and the like become members of the Order of the British Empire, established by King George V in 1917 to honor people for service in World War I who didn't qualify for one of the higher orders. There are limits to the numbers of knights that can be created, both in one year and in total. Only 945 people can be members of the two highest classes (which are the only ones that are allowed to call or be referred to as "Sir" or "Dame"). More are eligible for the lower classes, which don't carry the same Sir or Dame status, but the number who can be appointed in any one year are limited. Honorary members like Kennedy don't count towards the 945, but if they become Commonwealth subjects, they would be eligible to become full-fledged members.

There are 100 Knights (and Dames) of the Grand Cross and 845 Knight (and Dame) Commanders. Kennedy is an honorary Knight Commander. George Mitchell is an Honorary Knight of the Grand Cross for his Irish peace efforts. Many well known celebrities are Knight (or Dame) Commanders, including Judi Dench, Sidney Poitier, Bono, and Roger Moore. Since the numbers are somewhat exclusive, they tend to be a bit picky in awarding them. Many other celebrities including Elton John and Paul McCartney are members of the lower orders, Officer of the British Empire or Member of the British Empire. Technically, they wouldn't be allowed to refer to themselves as "Sir" but many of them like John and McCartney are also appointed as Knights Bachelor (for which there are no similar numerical restrictions). Knights Bachelor are the descendants of what many people think of as medieval knights and are allowed to call themselves "Sir." Because there is no female equivalent of the Knight Bachelor, women must be named Dame Commanders and subject to the 845 total number restriction. Judi Dench, Julie Andrews and Shirley Bassey are Dame Commanders.

I guess no one told Gordon Brown not to call him "Sir" (with love).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7922703.stm
"And so today, having talked to him last night, I want to announce that Her Majesty the Queen has awarded an honorary knighthood for Sir Edward Kennedy."

Ok, follow me on this.

Even if you are an "official" knight, you don't do anything. You have no responsibilities associated with knighthood. The best you get is do have people call you "Sir," and put some initials after your name. That's it.

All it is, is an honor. Even official knighthoods are honorary titles.

If it makes anyone feel better, this means, at best, Ted Kennedy is an honorary honorary knight.

When the "official" knights get called into service to storm castles and rescue damsels, then I'll be convinced they're "official" knights.

nitrah55 wrote:Ok, follow me on this.

Even if you are an "official" knight, you don't do anything. You have no responsibilities associated with knighthood. The best you get is do have people call you "Sir," and put some initials after your name. That's it.

All it is, is an honor. Even official knighthoods are honorary titles.

If it makes anyone feel better, this means, at best, Ted Kennedy is an honorary honorary knight.

When the "official" knights get called into service to storm castles and rescue damsels, then I'll be convinced they're "official" knights.

I agree with your logic and your conclusion, Nitrah. On a related note, Ted Knight was also just an honorary knight. His actual name was Tadeusz Władysław Konopka.

nitrah55 wrote: Even if you are an "official" knight, you don't do anything. You have no responsibilities associated with knighthood. The best you get is do have people call you "Sir," and put some initials after your name. That's it.

They are awarded various badges and medals which can be worn on formal or ceremonial occasions and on military dress uniforms (for those in the British military). They will soon be able to wear a lapel pin on everyday business attire (cost is 15 pounds). They can also add the initials KBE (DBE), OBE, or MBE after their name if they wish (similar to adding PhD or J.D.) And they get to put some special extra doodads on their coat of arms (I'd be interested to see what Elton John's coat of arms looks like).

That's it.

I wonder about those higher order knights, like the ones offered to England's military people. I imagine if they are given the title of knight, that they would be expected to continue to protect the queen. Do you think a case can be made that the military are the modern day "knights"?
With regard to "adopted daughter", I guess some people feel a need to say that because if they don't people will assume that the child is their birth daughter. And I guess, some people want to avoid later conversation correcting people of that assumption.

With regard to "adopted daughter", I guess some people feel a need to say that because if they don't people will assume that the child is their birth daughter. And I guess, some people want to avoid later conversation correcting people of that assumption.

I have two teenagers, a 10-year-old, and a preschooler. They're all "mine" and my husband's.

I have gotten used to people saying that I look too young to have teenagers. Two of the bus drivers have asked the kids if I were the babysitter, and I got picked for a show at Disney World, then when I came forward she tried to reject me, telling me I had to be 16 or older. I was 38. But I was wearing glittery antennas on a headband at the time, so....

My last name sounds Japanese, but it's Lithuanian. I've had Japanese people ask if my husband is Japanese, so it's not such an invalid assumption.

So you can imagine I confuse people with my name and pack of kids. They'll think the older ones are my husband's from a previous marriage of his, or until they see Erin they think Steve is Japanese and I had a former husband who was Caucasian, then get confused when the youngest kid is also Caucasian.

And really, it's just none of their beeswax.

wearing glittery antennas on a headband

Wow! talk about MM potential

themanintheseersuckersuit wrote:

wearing glittery antennas on a headband

Wow! talk about MM potential

They were purple Mickey Mouse heads on springs, attached to a headband. I have a picture of the family taken in the Studios where I'm wearing them. I was polite enough to remove them during Play It! so I wouldn't block anyone behind me's view of the screen, and I removed them for Fantasmic!, where they were stolen from the stroller pocket. The Mickeys were popping out. I suppose some little girl couldn't resist them, and she is welcome to them if that's the case. They're the only thing I've ever had go missing on any of my many Disney trips.

Vague Mini wrote:

themanintheseersuckersuit wrote:

wearing glittery antennas on a headband

Wow! talk about MM potential

They were purple Mickey Mouse heads on springs, attached to a headband. I have a picture of the family taken in the Studios where I'm wearing them. I was polite enough to remove them during Play It! so I wouldn't block anyone behind me's view of the screen, and I removed them for Fantasmic!, where they were stolen from the stroller pocket. The Mickeys were popping out. I suppose some little girl couldn't resist them, and she is welcome to them if that's the case. They're the only thing I've ever had go missing on any of my many Disney trips.

Did you see any squirrels in the vicinity?

themanintheseersuckersuit wrote:

Vague Mini wrote:

themanintheseersuckersuit wrote: Wow! talk about MM potential

They were purple Mickey Mouse heads on springs, attached to a headband. I have a picture of the family taken in the Studios where I'm wearing them. I was polite enough to remove them during Play It! so I wouldn't block anyone behind me's view of the screen, and I removed them for Fantasmic!, where they were stolen from the stroller pocket. The Mickeys were popping out. I suppose some little girl couldn't resist them, and she is welcome to them if that's the case. They're the only thing I've ever had go missing on any of my many Disney trips.

Did you see any squirrels in the vicinity?

LOL!