Oscar-winner Colin Firth, England cricket captain Andrew Strauss, Nobel laureate Robert G. Edwards, rock star Bryan Ferry and television presenter Bruce Forsyth were on Saturday included in Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday honours list.
The honours list is issued twice a year in the UK, on the Queen’s official birthday on June 11, and at the New Year.
British test tube baby pioneer Robert G. Edwards, who won the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine last year, was knighted by the queen. His pioneering work led to the birth of the world’s first test-tube baby, Louise Brown, in Britain in 1978.
The 85-year-old scientist is unwell and his wife Ruth Edwards said: “This honour recognises his years of devotion and dedication to alleviate human infertility despite many setbacks and much opposition. His success in pioneering IVF has brought happiness to millions of people worldwide. Bob is delighted to be receiving this honour, an award that all the family feel is so richly deserved.”
Fifty-year-old Colin Firth, who won a slew of awards for playing the queen’s father, King George VI, in The King’s Speech, was awarded a CBE “for services to drama”. The host of the television reality show Strictly Come Dancing, Bruce Forsyth, received a knighthood for services to entertainment and charity. Rocker Bryan Ferry, whose hits include Love Is The Drug and Virginia Plain, was also honoured with a CBE. English writer Kate Atkinson was awarded an MBE for services to literature. Bank of England governor Mervyn King was honoured with a knighthood and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s lawyer Mark Stephens was awarded a CBE.
England cricket team captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower were honoured with OBEs and batsman Alastair Cook with an MBE.
A vast number of Indian-origin Britons were awarded for their services to the country: Mayur Parsuram Patel from the treasury solicitor’s department was honoured with a CBE, School of Oriental and African Studies professor Nirmala Rao was awarded an OBE for services to scholarship and Dr Biku Ghosh, founder of Gwent-Southern Ethiopia Health Link, got an OBE for services to medicine.