Queen guitarist Brian May receives title of “Sir”

Queen guitarist Brian May was knighted in honor of his services to music and charity. Now, he is nicknamed “Sir”.

May, 75, was one of more than 1,000 people honored in King Charles III’s first honors list since the monarch took the throne. The year-end list also includes stylist Mary Quant and Ghanaian-British artist John Akomfrah.

The 2023 list of honors was published in “The Gazette”, the official newspaper of the British royal family, on Friday (30).

May received the title of Knight Bachelor for their “services to music and charity”. The ad described him as a “musician, songwriter and animal welfare advocate”.

“Thank you so much for all your congratulatory messages following the announcement of my knighthood,” the guitarist said in a video posted to Instagram on Friday.

“I am so touched and so touched by your love and support. I will do my best to be worthy,” he added.

In addition to performing with Queen since the 1970s, May is also an astrophysicist. He received his PhD in astrophysics from Imperial College London in 2007 after taking a break from his studies in the 1970s to focus on the band.

He is also an animal rights advocate and critic of hunting, having formed an organization called save me in 2010 to campaign against fox hunting and badger culling in the UK.

May isn’t the only Queen member to receive a royal title. Drummer Roger Taylor was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2020. May was previously named Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2005.

The artist famously performed “God Save the Queen” from the roof of Buckingham Palace at Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee in 2002. Twenty years later, he also performed with the Queen at the monarch’s Platinum Jubilee Concert. .