Morrison, Redmayne honored by UK Queen

LONDON: Singer-songwriter Van Morrison was given a knighthood and Oscar-winning actor Eddie Redmayne was made an OBE in Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday honors announced Friday.
Rugby stars Gareth Edwards and Jonny Wilkinson as well as William Pooley, a British nurse who contracted Ebola while working in Sierra Leone, were also honored.
US actor Kevin Spacey, who is ending a 10-year run as artistic director of London’s Old Vic theater, was awarded an honorary knighthood, which he said made him feel like an “adopted son” of Britain.
Two historians who helped discover the remains of 15th-century king Richard III under a car park, Philippa Langley and Louis Ashdown-Hill, received honors as well.
The queen’s honors are awarded twice a year and although the focus is often on celebrities, most are ordinary people recognized for work in their communities.
Decided by an independent committee, the awards include knights and dames and various orders of the British empire, whether commander (CBE), officer (OBE) or member (MBE).
Van Morrison was awarded the highest honor, a knighthood, for services to music and tourism in his native Northern Ireland.
The 69-year-old, known for the 1967 hit “Brown Eyed Girl,” continues to write and perform.
Redmayne, 33, who won an Oscar this year for playing British scientist Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything,” was made an OBE.