Actor Michael Caine was knighted by the
Queen at Buckingham Palace on Thursday as
Sir Maurice Micklewhite.
The 67-year-old actor used his real name
during the ceremony with the Queen, but will
be known professionally as Sir Michael Caine
The double
Oscar-winning star has
already been awarded a
CBE for his services to
the British screen.
He still uses his real
name, he revealed, as a
tribute to his father.
"I was named after my father and I was
knighted in his name because I love my
father," he said .
"I always kept my real name - I'm a very
private and family-orientated person."
He added: "When I go home, I leave Michael
Caine the film star with the costumes, the wigs
and the props in the studio."
The honour follows his second Oscar, awarded
in March, and a Bafta fellowship, where he
used his speech as a platform for his
frustrations.
He told the audience that he felt like he never
really belonged in Britain and that he was a
loner and on the outside.
But Caine's knighthood confirms he has now
been embraced as a fully-fledged member of
the British establishment.
Born in Bermondsey, south-east London, he
has always made a virtue of his working class
background and his accent has resolutely
refused to alter in his 40-plus years as an
actor.
British icon
Caine was at the vanguard of British movies in
the 1960s, playing the anti-hero spy Harry
Palmer and the cockney Alfie.
In recent years many of his earlier films have
been reassessed as true cinema classics.
Films such as Get
Carter, arguably his
finest performance,
was recently remade
by Sylvester Stallone,
and The Italian Job has
attained cult status.
Moments after kneeling
before the Queen to be
dubbed a Knight
Bachelor for services to
drama he said: "I never
imagined that I would
get a knighthood - you
don't imagine being a
film star either.
"Being knighted is an extraordinary honour for
me. It's the recognition of a lifetime - this is
the top one.
"It's like winning an Oscar - you don't expect
it."
Sir Michael added: "The Queen said to me, 'I
get the impression that you've been doing this
for a very long time'."
Also receiving honours at the palace on
Thursday were Mary Peters, who won an
Olympic gold medal in 1972, and who becomes
a Dame Commander, actress Dorothy Tutin,
also a Dame Commander, and ex-England rugby
international Jeremy Guscott, who received an
MBE.
He said: "This means a great deal because,
although I'm getting the award for rugby, it's a
recognition of my individual contribution.
"This is something I can treasure and keep."
Before the investiture, the Queen presented a
posthumous Bravery Medal to Laurence
Whitehouse whose wife, Margaret, was taken
hostage by Yemeni terrorists and died in a
resulting shoot-out in 1998.
Mrs Whitehouse went to the aid of an injured
Australian but both were killed in a hail of
bullets.
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Fergie spokeswoman denies Swiss move story(Yahoo: Ananova)
A spokeswoman for the Duchess of York has denied claims that she plans to live in
Switzerland.
The Swiss newspaper Blick reported that the Duchess will move to Fazy Castle in the
tiny village of Russin, which has a population of only 400 people.
Blick reported the Duchess as saying: "It's true. I'm moving to Switzerland."
It also quoted authorities saying: "We have issued the Duchess a residence permit."
But her spokeswoman, responding to enquiries by ITN (www.itn.co.uk), said the story was incorrect.
The Duchess and her estranged husband, the Duke of York, are no strangers to Switzerland. They have enjoyed
regular skiing holidays at the exclusive resort of Klosters.
The Duchess has until now been based at the former marital home in Sunningdale, Berkshire.
Although separated from the Duke, she still enjoys a good relationship with him. Both are keen to play central
roles in the upbringing of their daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
Recently, they decided to send Beatrice to St George's School in Ascot, rather than to Aiglon College in
Switzerland, which was involved in a sex scandal.