Queen Elizabeth II’s Knighthood Can Be Stripped Away For These Reasons

Queen Elizabeth II gives knighthoods to deserving heroes twice a year – once on New Year and another time during her birthday.

Aletha Adu, a journalist for The Sun, revealed that the prestigious knighthood may be taken away by the Queen herself due to a number of reasons. One of the reasons is if the recipient’s behavior does not match their title.

The Honors Forfeiture Committee considers cases wherein a recipient’s action raises the question of whether or not they should continue to be a holder of the honor. The knighthood is also removed from any recipient that has been convicted of an offense, removed from professional bodies, or accused of criminal behavior.

But there have also been some instances wherein the knighthood was removed due to exceptional circumstances. For instance, George Castledine was rewarded with the knighthood in 2007 for his services in healthcare. But seven years later, it was stripped from him due to his sexually and financially motivated misconduct.

Fred Godwin was also given the knighthood in 2004 for his services to the banking industry, but it was taken away in 2012. It was reported that Godwin was one of the people that caused the bank to the brink of its collapse in 2008.

James Crosby, the former chief executive of HBO asked that his knighthood is stripped away after a report was released claiming that he also contributed to the collapse of the bank.

Alan Davies received his knighthood in 2000 for his services in education. However, the former head teacher of Copland School in Wembley, East London admitted to false accounting in which he created a paper trail for bonus payments and allowances. His knighthood was revoked years later.

In related news, when the Queen passes away, the person that will take over the throne will be the one to give away the knighthood to deserving individuals. By the looks of it, it will be Prince Charles who will have this power in the coming years.