Brian May, the guitarist with the rock band Queen, has spoken of the sense of “responsibility” he feels to behave in a way that “benefits” Britain after being given a knighthood in the New Year Honours
May, whose poodle hairstyle and virtuoso playing on hits such as Don’t Stop Me Now epitomised an era of rock flamboyance, is to be knighted for services to music and charity.
The musician, who has gone on to be an astrophysicist as well as an animal welfare campaigner, is among several celebrities being recognised for their contribution to Britain’s cultural life.
May said his initial reaction on being told of the honour was shock.
“I don't think I expected it because I haven't been conducting the kind of life which I thought would lead to a knighthood - I've been quite vociferous in criticising recent governments for a start,” he said. "So I imagined that I was on the wrong side for all that stuff.”
May added: “I also think it comes with a responsibility to continue to behave in a way which benefits the country and the rest of the population here and the world as well.”
The 75-year-old was made a CBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 2005 for services to the music industry and charity. His performance of God Save the Queen on the roof of Buckingham Palace became one of the defining images of Her Majesty’s Golden Jubilee in 2002.
In June this year, he performed at the Platinum Jubilee, where the late monarch tapped the beat of We Will Rock You on a teacup at the end of a sketch featuring Paddington Bear.
May said: "I couldn't have imagined this 50 years ago, when we were kind of hacking out a living and trying to put our music into the world. The fact that the Queen would be actually playing my song is quite something."
The guitarist, who co-founded International Asteroid Day and also had one named after him - 52665 Brianmay - is also co-founder of the Save Me Trust, which campaigns for the rights of foxes and badgers. He is also vice-president of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA).
He said of his knighthood: "I don't regard it so much as a reward, I regard it as a kind of charge, like a kind of commission to do the things that one would expect a knight to do - to fight for justice, to fight for people who don't have any voice. And, in my case, for all creatures who don't have a voice.”
Also honoured for her work as a cultural pioneer is Dame Mary Quant, the fashion designer widely credited with popularising the mini skirt and creating one of the defining looks of the 1960s.
She has been made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour for services to fashion.
The special award, granted to those who have made a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine or government, was founded by George V.
Dame Mary joins an illustrious list of recipients including broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, actress Dame Judi Dench, former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney and singer-songwriter Sir Elton John.
She began experimenting with shorter hemlines in the late 1950s and named the resulting skirt after her favourite make of car.
The designer, who was made an OBE in 1966 and a Dame in 2014, later said: "It was the girls on King's Road who invented the mini. I was making clothes which would let you run and dance and we would make them the length the customer wanted. I wore them very short and the customers would say, 'shorter, shorter'."
Grayson Perry, the artist, writer and broadcaster, has been made a Knight Bachelor for services to the arts.
The 62-year-old is also known for his cross-dressing and calls himself a "tranny potter", appearing in public as his female alter-ego, Claire.
In 2014 he became a CBE for his services to contemporary art and wore what he called his "Italian mother of the bride" outfit for his investiture by the then Prince of Wales, now King.
Stephen Graham, whose explosive performances in This Is England, Line of Duty and the 2019's gangster epic The Irishman have won him a cult following, is being made an OBE for services to drama.
The 49-year-old Merseyside-born actor, who also played Al Capone in the drama series Boardwalk Empire, has credited his fellow This Is England and Boiling Point co-star and wife Hannah Walters for helping him following a suicide attempt during a period of despair in his early 20s.
Rachel Riley, the Countdown star, has been made an MBE for her efforts to raise awareness of the Holocaust and combat anti-Semitism.
The television presenter and mathematician, whose mother is Jewish, has been a vocal critic of Labour's handling of alleged anti-Semitism within the party as well its former party leader, Jeremy Corbyn.
Riley faced a string of online rows over anti-Semitism and also won tens of thousands of pounds in damages.
Anne Diamond, who campaigned to stop cot death, has described being made an OBE as the "crowning achievement" for all those who helped her.
The broadcaster, 68, who has been named in the New Year Honours for services to public health and charity, dedicated the achievement to her late son Sebastian.
She said: "This OBE is literally a crowning achievement to everyone who helped me and upon whose groundbreaking research my campaign was based.”
Janet Kay, the 64-year-old actress and singer whose 1970s Lovers Rock chart hit Silly Games introduced the lovers’ rock form of reggae to a generation, has been made an MBE for services to music.
Comedian Frank Skinner has been made an MBE for services to entertainment. He first performed a stand-up gig in 1987 and has since become one of Britain’s most famous comics.
His partnership with fellow comic David Baddiel produced the hit England football song Three Lions, which they first wrote for the 1996 European Championships and is now one of the country’s best-loved anthems.
Virginia McKenna, the actress and pioneering wildlife campaigner, will receive a damehood for her services to animal conservation.
Founded in 1984, her Born Free Foundation campaigns to free animals from captivity and protect endangered species and natural habitats.
