Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Why the hell would any American go along with being "knighted" by the Queen of England? I can understand Malthusian Bill Gates doing it.
 
It never got to the Head of the Commonwealth. It stopped at #10. The Queen probably never even knew about it.

Either you do not know how an honours list works, or you do not know that the Prime Minister is not the head of state.

My apologies, I thought the Prime Minister would have been considered the head of state of the UK, not the monarch.
 
Knighthoods in the British Empire of the 21st century is not what it used to be. You can't even get a weapons permit from it! In short, a Knighting is a political feather on one's cap and you get to jump the line for a lot of government requests and into the back rooms of the better pubs in Soho. These days, titles are for legacy royals, civil servants and the occasional "subject" that has massive personal or professional achievement.

One thing the article forgot to mention is that for any American citizen to legally hold a foreign royal title that is not inherited requires an Act of Congress and approval of the Embassy for that country. The country awarding the title should be on the Most Favored Countries list. Thus, most European titles are almost an immediate fata compli.

However, titles from Middle Eastern countries and Asian countries are a big no-no for American Citizens without State Department guidance. There have been no federal prosecutions of illegal titles for decades but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

Hah, interesting stuff, thanks! It'd be hard to imagine a prosecution simply for accepting an honour/title. Are other nations as 'strict' on this?

p.s. It doesn't even get you a weapons permit any more? Pfffft.. what's the point so? Broken Britain, I'm telling ya... :p
 
Just an idle thought I had.

A Knighthood is referred to as a type of honour. Therefore an honorary knighthood is a type of honorary honour?
 
My apologies, I thought the Prime Minister would have been considered the head of state of the UK, not the monarch.

"The Supreme Executive and Military Authority in and of this Commonwealth is and shall continue to be vested in the body of Her Majesty The Queen, her heirs and successors according to law...."
 
Hah, interesting stuff, thanks! It'd be hard to imagine a prosecution simply for accepting an honour/title. Are other nations as 'strict' on this?

The USA isn't as strict as you've been led to believe, either.

Before an honour is conferred (and, again, note that an honour is not a title), there is a communication with the native government (whether that government is a Commonwealth realm, a Commonwealth republic, or the USA) in order to determine ahead of time whether or not the native government have any objection to the conferring of an order on the citizen of any country.

If the native government object, then a purely political knighthood (Order of the British Empire) would never reach The Queen. To my knowledge, no native government have ever objected to a professional order (Order of Saint Michael and Saint George).

Both Norman Schwarzkopf and Colin Powell are Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath. This is very high up and a sign of the ongoing very real, very close relationship between Britain and the United States.

No US citizen may accept a title (Baron of Parliament, a life peerage) without the consent of the US government, and in practice this would never be offered to anyone. The problem is that a life peer is in this day and age only appointed as a Baron of Parliament (nominal member of the House of Lords), and this involves an oath of fealty that should not be taken by a US citizen.

It is possible for a US citizen to inherit a peerage, however. So long as the US citizen who is a peer does not attempt to stand for position as one of the elected hereditary peers in the House of Lords, he is not contravening any US law or custom by simply using his title overseas and not in the USA. The inheritance of a peerage is automatic, and no oath is required so long as the peer does not attempt to take his seat in the House.
 
"The Congress consents to the accepting, retaining, and wearing by a Federal employee of a British decoration tendered in recognition of active field service in time of combat operations or awarded for other outstanding or unusually meritorious performance, subject to the approval of the employing agency of such employee."

That is the ruling of the US Justice Department.

You can accept the Order, and you can wear it.

You might also notice that British Orders have a precedence listed in the wearing of ribbons and decorations by US officers.
 
Hah, interesting stuff, thanks! It'd be hard to imagine a prosecution simply for accepting an honour/title. Are other nations as 'strict' on this?

In the early United States, there were state executions for those accepting foreign titles. Those that escaped the Fed led the British Invasions that was the War of 1812. I think the last time the Fed prosecuted an American citizen was in the 70's for a middle eastern title.

p.s. It doesn't even get you a weapons permit any more? Pfffft.. what's the point so? Broken Britain, I'm telling ya... :p

I want to keep with Mac and iPhone here. In short, Britain is having centuries of bad karma come back on them IMO.
 
What European nation awards titles to US citizens?

The UK and a lot of Mediterranean countries like Spain, Italy and those on the Adriatic award titles to American Citizens. There are also some Prussian royals with American citizenship.

In fact, there are clubs and other "society" gatherings where you must have a royal title to attend. If you ever drive by a country club with super expensive vehicles parked around and no sporting event, either a club like that or the local Illuminati chapter gathering.
 
Because he has more money than he could ever possibly spend in his own lifetime (considering he'll still be receiving income of some sort, even if just royalties). Jobs may not exactly be short on cash, but he has nowhere near the amount Gates does. In all truthfulness, Gates has enough to totally eradicate the whole issue of starvation/water shortage in a country if he really wanted to. Donating a few billion is like one of us donating a few pounds (or dollars for the americans).

I have far more respect for the person working a ****** job on minimum wage with a family to look after who still manages to spare a few pounds for charity every month than one of the richest men alive giving away a couple of his many, many, many billions when there is no chance in hell that he needs it himself.

Also, as for Steve cancelling any charity activities when he returned, he was rescuing a dying company. He saw that for the immediate future they needed to focus on themselves. Just cause it's not publicised, how do you know that he doesn't donate a little personally? Unless you have access to his personal bank account it would be imposible to determine.

So given your logic, you think that Gates is a very very rich looser who gives away very little, and you have no respect for him. Well news flash mate, Jobs is rich... not very very rich, but he gives away nothing, respect him away. I could give a rats ass how much they earn, but gates 2-3 billion has done a hell of a lot more good for someone then jobs contribution.

"Just cause it's not publicised, how do you know that he doesn't donate a little personally? Unless you have access to his personal bank account it would be imposible to determine" wow.... just wow... try google mate, and be prepared for endless search result of Steve's charitable side...

Of the money that gates and jobs have, gates has contributed a greater % to charity.

Jobs is a brilliant visionary, king of markerting and has changed the computer industry, that does not make his a saint in all aspects in life... geez..
 
"The Supreme Executive and Military Authority in and of this Commonwealth is and shall continue to be vested in the body of Her Majesty The Queen, her heirs and successors according to law...."

hmm you cannot just quote one line out of context. The Monarch is the Head of State in the UK, but The Monarch takes little direct part in Government.
 
Why the hell would any American go along with being "knighted" by the Queen of England? I can understand Malthusian Bill Gates doing it.

It is purely recognition from our country for a doing a great job, it does not mean he is then assimilated in to our population. :rolleyes:
 
It is purely recognition from our country for a doing a great job, it does not mean he is then assimilated in to our population. :rolleyes:

Just as living in London is not the same as living in the City of London, being recognized by England is not the same as being knighted by the queen. There is a constitutional amendment floating around the US (it did not complete although it was not rejected either) that specifically prohibits anyone with a foreign title holding office in this country. Holding a foreign title is a big deal IMO and one should know what that entails before accepting IMO. I doubt Steve Jobs would care for the title or the recognition.
 
There is a constitutional amendment floating around the US (it did not complete although it was not rejected either) that specifically prohibits anyone with a foreign title holding office in this country. Holding a foreign title is a big deal IMO and one should know what that entails before accepting IMO. I doubt Steve Jobs would care for the title or the recognition.

Why is it such a big deal if an American accepts a British title? It doesn't mean they've defected and are no longer an American citizen, so what's the problem?
 
hmm you cannot just quote one line out of context. The Monarch is the Head of State in the UK, but The Monarch takes little direct part in Government.

Yes, of course you're right.

The ongoing strength of the system is that (1)The Queen cannot be refused an answer to a question she has asked and (2)The Queen can use regular common sense on behalf of the commonality of the people to advise the government, warn the government or, as a last ditch resort, command the government.

You will notice that the Civil Contingencies Act makes it clear that the United Kingdom trust only The Queen to declare when an actual civil contingency, a state of emergency, exists and needs to be dealt with.

So very much in the realms of the Commonwealth is performed in theory only through the personal authority of the sovereign that it would be idiotic to pretend that the job, as constitutionally defined, is in any way doable by any single person.

Despite the fact that almost everything is done in The Queen's name, you are right, she does not actually take part in the day to day operation of most of these things...it's an impossible job. And as The Queen reaches the end of her life, it would probably be good to carefully examine the future role of the monarchy, its relevance, and whether or not you would in the future want to trust anyone else with the enormous providence and influence with which you trusted the current monarch, her father and her grandfather.

We are all conflicted about it.

Of course we love The Queen. Of course we understand the prestige and charm of the monarchy...even if we know at the same time the job is impossible.

The European Court of Human Rights have ruled on several occasions (Greece, Romania, Russia) that the Crown Estate of a nation is the property of an individual. Unfortunately the Crown Estate in Right of the United Kingdom contributes enormous sums of money to the public revenues. It's inextricably and irretrievably a part of the weave of life, and the general welfare of the population.

I cannot even imagine how one would begin to unravel this weave, and I can only hope that we never have to really think about it, and that The Queen could live forever.

:)
 
You know, now that you've made me think of it, I recall that there were some unusual things that had to be done to get those power windmills built on the east coast because...the beaches are a part of our Crown Estate.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.