Michael Jackson quest for British Knighthood

Why didn't Michael Jackson receive a Knighthood from the Queen? It was reported in the mid 90's that he was to received a Knighthood for his charities works for children but it never happened. Was there a reason for it?

because he was the king

It's not as simple as "he really wants it"

1 - He wasn't British
2 - For a non-British person to be awarded an honorary knighthood or damehood they need to be recommended - afaik, they have to have done something which qualifies as 'making an important contribution to British interests'. Whatever that means. Financial interests? Cultural interests? I have no idea.
3 - Those Americans who have an honorary knighthood / damehood cannot call themselves 'Sir' or 'Dame'. They can use the letters KBE or DBE after their name. That's it.
4 - Queen Elizabeth II was on the throne for 70 years and she only granted 27 honours to Americans, afaik.

He's not British for starters.

zinniabooklover said:

1 - He wasn't British
2 - For a non-British person to be awarded an honorary knighthood or damehood they need to be recommended - afaik, they have to have done something which qualifies as 'making an important contribution to British interests'. Whatever that means. Financial interests? Cultural interests? I have no idea.
3 - Those Americans who have an honorary knighthood / damehood cannot call themselves 'Sir' or 'Dame'. They can use the letters KBE or DBE after their name. That's it.
4 - Queen Elizabeth II was on the throne for 70 years and she only granted 27 honours to Americans, afaik.

Click to expand...

All of this.

The only non British I know to have received an Honorary Knighthood are Bob Geldof and Terry Wogan.

Bob Geldof is from Dublin but has lived most of his adult life in The UK. He did Live Aid and Band Aid which were all huge charity events based in UK.

Terry Wogan was from Limerick but lived most of his adult life in The UK. He worked on both BBC Radio and BBC television from 1966 to 2016. He was the main high profile presenter in the 1980's and 1990's, with prime time interview shows and game shows and hosting all the big events like Eurovision.

So basically to get an Honorary Knighthood the person needs to live in UK and contribute in some major way to UK society.

This Honorary Knighthood idea for Michael seems to cycle through every 8 to 10 years from new fans and young fans, who have no understanding of elegibity criteria.

I'm going to take a wild guess that aside from the fact he wasn't British....1993.

Those who want don't always receive.....I'm sure Michael and his team were the ones pushing for a Knighthood rather than the Monarchy reaching out to his team.

As a proud Brit, it would be a mockery for Michael to be knighted, he's not British for a start and as others have said , it's rare for a non Brit to receive one.

I love Michael but it's a no I'm afraid.

I’m a proud Brit too and no it wouldn’t be a mockery to award one of those to a man who has done so much to humanity around the world mind you but yes there’s that small issue of not being British for starters. Some that have received it have done a fraction of what Michael has done so on that basis he is a worthy recipient but nah!who cares!!!

For charity work and contribution he would deserve it for sure, but it would need to be based on what he did for the Monarchy/UK

Plenty of other non Brits have also made big contributions to charity etc without ever being recognised.

In 2024 a Knighthood doesn't seem such a big deal anymore based on the fact they dish them out these days like they were sweeties.