Lewis Hamilton is now a \u201cSir\u201d as well as a seven-time Formula One champion.<\/p>\n
Hamilton received a knighthood on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT) as part of Queen Elizabeth II\u2019s New Year's honours list, which also recognised British performers, politicians, public servants and people outside the limelight who worked to defeat the coronavirus and its devastating impacts.<\/p>\n
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Hamilton, who secured his seventh F1 title last month to equal Michael Schumacher\u2019s record, has said his recent success was partly inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.<\/p>\n
The 35-year-old race car driver took the knee on the grid and wore anti-racism slogans during the season.<\/p>\n
Hamilton told the BBC last week that \u201cit was a different drive than what I\u2019ve had in me in the past, to get to the end of those races first so that I could utilise that platform\u201d against racism.<\/p>\n
Supporters have suggested Hamilton would have been knighted sooner if not for his tax status.<\/p>\n
Hamilton\u2019s knighthood was awarded in the \u201coverseas\u201d section of the honours list because he lives in low-tax Monaco.<\/p>\n
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His tax affairs made news in 2017 when the Paradise Papers leak showed he avoided paying more than A$5.2 million in taxes on a private jet registered in the Isle of Man, a tax haven.<\/p>\n
Motorsport UK chairman David Richards said Hamilton\u2019s tax status had been \u201ctotally misunderstood\u201d and that the racing champion was among the 5000 highest taxpayers in the U.K.<\/p>\n
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Veteran footballers Jimmy Greaves and Ron Flowers were made Members of the Order of the British Empire, or MBEs, after a long-running campaign to ensure every surviving member of the team that won England the 1966 World Cup receives an honour.<\/p>\n
The queen's honours are awarded twice a year, in late December and in June, when the monarch's birthday is observed.<\/p>\n
The awards acknowledge hundreds of people for services to community or British national life.<\/p>\n
Recipients are selected by committees of civil servants from nominations made by the government and the public.<\/p>\n
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In descending order, the main honours are knighthoods, CBE, OBE and Member of the Order of the British Empire, or MBE.<\/p>\n
Knights are addressed as \u201csir\u201d or \u201cdame,\u201d followed by their name.<\/p>\n
Recipients of the other honours have no title, but they can put the letters after their names.<\/p>\n
There is growing criticism of the honours\u2019 evocation of the British Empire, the legacy of which has been debated anew amid campaigns against racism and colonialism around the world.<\/p>\n
The education spokeswoman for the opposition Labour Party, Kate Green, who has an OBE, recently called the titles of the honours \u201coffensive and divisive.\u201d<\/p>\n
The British government said there are no plans to change the titles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"