One of the many aspects of saintliness of Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, is the fact that he is a plain "mister". Sir Nicholas Hytner and Sir Nicholas Serota may have succumbed to the siren call of our honours system, but MacGregor has quite obviously turned down a knighthood.
Earlier this month, however, MacGregor was awarded the Order of Merit, with minimum publicity. Only 24 people can be members of this elite group at any one time, and at the moment they include Lady Thatcher and Betty Boothroyd (the only women); the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales; Tom Stoppard and Lucian Freud.
The order, which is in the personal gift of the Queen, was founded by Edward VII to acknowledge "exceptionally meritorious service". Members have included Henry James, Winston Churchill and Laurence Olivier. I struggle with any royally bestowed honour, but as it doesn't carry a feudal title, I suppose I can just about let St Neil off.
