List of people who have declined a British honour

The following is a non-exhaustive list of people who have declined a British honour, such as a knighthood or other grade of honour.

In most cases, the offer of an honour was rejected privately. Nowadays, potential recipients are contacted before any public announcement to confirm in writing that they wish to be put forward for an honour, thereby avoiding friction or controversy. However, some have let it be known that the offer was declined, and there have also been occasional leaks from official sources. A handful of people have accepted and later renounced an honour; these are listed at the end of the article.

In 2003, The Sunday Times published a list of almost 300 people who had declined an honour between 1951 and 1999. In 2020, The Guardian reported based on a Freedom of Information request, that the number of people refusing an honour in 2020 was 68 out of 2,504 offered, or 2.7%. The number of people rejecting a British honour doubled in the decade 2010–2020.

Reasons for rejection Honours are rejected for a variety of reasons. Some potential recipients have rejected one honour then accepted another (such as Sir Alfred Hitchcock), or have initially refused an honour then accepted it, or have accepted one honour then declined another (such as actor Robert Morley) or refused in the hope of another higher distinction (Roald Dahl refused being decorated as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, allegedly because he wanted a knighthood so that his wife Felicity would be entitled to be known as "Lady Dahl"; Felicity was herself appointed DBE in 2024).

Sometimes, a potential recipient refuses a knighthood or peerage but accepts an honour that does not bestow a title (or precedence), such as the Order of Merit or the Order of the Companions of Honour. Examples are E. M. Forster, Paul Scofield, Doris Lessing, Harold Pinter (although Pinter's widow, Lady Antonia Fraser, was later appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire), David Hockney, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Augustus John, V. S. Srinivasa Sastri, Francis Crick and Paul Dirac.

Some may refuse an honour based on political reasons, relating to the British state or the royal family. Nationalists of the constituent countries may prefer awards from their respective nations, such as Welsh nationalists refusing British awards for Welsh awards such as from the Gorsedd or St David Awards. In 2022, when Gareth Bale accepted appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire, some Welsh football supporters opposed and criticised his decision, describing him as "no longer a Welsh legend" because of his acceptance. A columnist at The National, a Welsh-based newspaper, stated: "There is a duty to refuse honours from the current British state as a way of rejecting the colonial connotations of the gongs themselves."

Honours declined

Kingdom In 1657, Oliver Cromwell, already Head of State and Head of Government as Lord Protector, was offered the crown by Parliament as part of a revised constitutional settlement; he had been "instrumental" in abolishing the monarchy after the English Civil War. Cromwell agonised for six weeks over the offer. In a speech on 13 April 1657, he gave his opinion that the office of monarch, once abolished, should stay so: "I would not seek to set up that which Providence hath destroyed and laid in the dust, and I would not build Jericho again."

Dukedom

Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister, was twice offered a dukedom, once as Duke of Dover by George VI and another as Duke of London by Queen Elizabeth II, but declined both in order to remain in the House of Commons and to allow his son Randolph a political career. Randolph died only three years after his father, so the dukedom would have had little time to affect his career as he had already been out of the Commons for ten years. Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, Prime Minister (1880); had already been created Earl of Beaconsfield. Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, Prime Minister (1868); citing his preference to continue being "the 14th Earl of Derby". Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne, statesman (1857). Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, Prime Minister (1886, and 1892 and possibly in 1901) – citing the prohibitive cost of the lifestyle that dukes were expected to maintain. According to Scribner's Magazine in 1900, "It is true that the Marquis of Salisbury might have been a Duke if he had not regarded his marquisate as a prouder title than a new dukedom could furnish." Prince Louis of Battenberg (1917) during the First World War, when he was forced to renounce his German title of prince. Offered a dukedom by George V, but declined as he could not afford the lavish lifestyle expected of a duke; accepted the marquessate of Milford Haven instead. Maria Fitzherbert, mistress and wife (in a marriage never considered valid under English law) of George IV; his brother William IV, hearing her story after George's death, asked her to accept a dukedom but she refused, asking only permission to wear widow's weeds, and to dress her servants in royal livery.

Marquessate

Sir Alexander Cambridge, formerly Prince Alexander of Teck (1917); accepted the Earldom of Athlone instead. Henry Lascelles, 5th Earl of Harewood (1922); he reportedly held the belief that marquessates tended to die out more quickly than earldoms. John Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer (1890s).

Earldom

Henry Addington (on his retirement as Prime Minister declined the Earldom of Banbury in 1804 as he wished to remain in the Commons; later accepted the Viscountcy of Sidmouth). Leo Amery, politician (declined in 1945). Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (declined the Earldom of Belmont in 1905 when it was offered to him in a plot to elevate him to the House of Lords and make him an ineffective Prime Minister in the Relugas Compact). Arthur Balfour, former prime minister (in 1919, accepted the Earldom of Balfour in 1922). Basil Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough, politician (1963) R. A. Butler, politician (in 1964; accepted life peerage as Baron Butler of Saffron Walden in 1965). Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, declined the Earldom of Wiltshire on his death bed in 1596. Neville Chamberlain (on his retirement as prime minister in 1940, also declined appointment as KG). Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, , politician (in 1809). Sir Anthony Eden (on his retirement as prime minister in 1957; later accepted the Earldom of Avon in 1961). William Ewart Gladstone, prime minister (in 1885). William Legge, had also declined a knighthood; his son was created Baron Dartmouth instead. Harold Macmillan (on his retirement as prime minister in 1963; later accepted the Earldom of Stockton in 1984). Angus Ogilvy (in 1963, upon his marriage to Princess Alexandra of Kent; later accepted a knighthood in 1988). Mark Phillips (in 1973, upon his marriage to Princess Anne; accepted appointment as CVO in 1974). R. H. Tawney (twice declined an earldom, in 1920s and 1940s. Replied to Ramsay MacDonald's offer by asking what harm he had ever done the Labour Party, and to the offer from Clement Attlee he averred that he was surprised that Labour was still interested in such baubles).

Viscountcy

Charles Booth, disenchanted with politics, declined Gladstone's overtures; created a Privy Counsellor by Balfour in 1904. John Grigg, 2nd Baron Altrincham, writer, historian and politician. Arthur Henderson, declined offer of peerage by Ramsay MacDonald in 1931. John Henry Whitley, retiring Speaker of the House of Commons (in 1928).

Barony

George Macaulay Booth, director of the Bank of England; declined Lloyd George's offer. Samuel Courtauld, industrialist (1937) Leonard Knight Elmhirst, philanthropist; declined Clement Attlee's offer in 1946, replying: "My own work, however, as you know, has lain in the main among country people ... in India, the USA and in Devonshire ... acceptance would neither be easy for me to explain nor easy for my friends to comprehend." Sir Thomas Holderness, retiring Permanent Under-Secretary of State for India, refused in 1920 on financial grounds, although he accepted a baronetcy.Biography of Thomas Holderness, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Billy Hughes, prime minister of Australia; declined David Lloyd George's offer in 1916.Stephen Murray-Smith, ed., The Dictionary of Australian Quotations, p. 144 Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten. Offered in 1945 for his services as Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia Command; declined as both Field Marshals Harold Alexander and Bernard Montgomery had accepted viscountcies. He received a viscountcy in the 1946 Birthday Honours, followed by an earldom for his service as the last Viceroy of India in August 1947. Sir Alan Lascelles, Private Secretary to the Sovereign; declined in 1953 as he felt titles to be a show of self-importance. T. P. O'Connor, journalist and Irish Nationalist MP 1880–1929, declined the offer from Lloyd George. Frank Pick, Chief Executive of London Transport in the 1930s. Joseph Strutt, soldier and MP, declined all honours, but suggested the offer (of the barony of Rayleigh) be transferred to his wife instead, which was done.

Life peerage (barony)

Former Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom

Life peerages are customarily offered to all former British prime ministers when they step down as a Member of Parliament (MPs). The last former prime minister to accept a peerage was Theresa May in 2024 after announcing her decision to step down from the House of Commons at that year's general election. Prior to May, the last former prime minister to accept a peerage upon leaving the Commons was Margaret Thatcher in 1992, and her husband, Denis, was created a baronet. David Cameron did not accept a life peerage when he stepped down from the Commons in 2016, but when appointed Foreign Secretary in 2023 he accepted appointment in order to serve in that role. Three of her successors – John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown – declined a peerage, whilst Rishi Sunak continues to serve as MPs. Neither Boris Johnson, Keir Starmer (who both resigned from the Commons), nor Liz Truss (who lost re-election in 2024) has been offered a peerage.

Sir Edward Heath, in 2001. Remaining in the House of Commons for more than 25 years after his premiership, Heath personally disapproved of political honours while realising their usefulness as a source of political patronage. Sir John Major, in 2001. Major thought a seat in the House of Lords was incompatible with retiring from politics; he later accepted appointment as Knight Companion of the Garter. Sir Tony Blair, in 2007. Blair stated that the House of Lords was "not my sort of thing". In 1999, Blair's government had significantly reduced the size of the House of Lords. Later, akin to Sir John Major, Blair accepted the Garter in the 2022 New Year Honours. Gordon Brown, in 2015. Brown declined on principle, being an advocate for an elected upper house. Brown was made a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in the 2024 Birthday Honours.

Others Isaiah Berlin, , philosopher (in 1980). Rodney Bickerstaffe, trade union leader and socialist; General Secretary of UNISON. Declined Blair's offer in 2000, reportedly saying that to accept would betray his socialist beliefs. Mark Bonham Carter Liberal politician, in 1967 Diary of Timothy Beaumont Nov. 1967 Albert Booth, Labour MP and Cabinet Minister 1974–1979 John Cleese, film and television actor, comedian (in 1999; stated that he "did not wish to spend winters in England" and being a peer would be "ridiculous", had previously declined appointment as CBE in 1996). Constance Cummings, actress, in 1975 Jean Floud, sociologist, Nuffield College, Oxford. Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge, declined a peerage (in 1978). Michael Foot, former Labour Party Leader. John Freeman, Labour MP, journalist, broadcaster, diplomat, and businessman.