Prince William on Tuesday presented royal honours during the Investiture ceremony held at Windsor Castle.
The honour, Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), which recognises the accomplishments of people in arts and sciences, was given to some of the big names in the British industry.
The event came just hours after Kensington Palace had made a delightful announcement about Kate Middleton’s return to the fourth annual Christmas carol concert, after completing her nine-month cancer treatment.
The Palace chose to shed a spotlight on a few recipients of the ceremony as the song, Proud by Heather Small, played in the backdrop.
M People’s Heather Small was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire to recognise her voluntary and charitable services
Rebecca Ferguson, who finished runner-up on The X Factor in 2010 behind winner Matt Cardle and ahead of One Direction, was made an MBE for her services to the music industry having turned towards activism in recent years.
The Original Boney-M lead singer Liz Mitchell (Elizabeth Pemberton-Mitchell) was awarded an MBE for efforts as well.
Duran Duran frontman Simon, 66, was made an MBE for his services to music and charity. He said he was “truly beyond thrilled and surprised” to receive the accolade.
The ceremony took place just two days after the royal family had gathered for the solemn event of Remembrance Sunday. King Charles had led tributed with Prince William, Kate Middleton, Princess Anne, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh in attendance along with other royals.
Previously, it was reported that the King Charles is plotting a major change to the century-old tradition, especially as the ongoing debate over slavery of the colonial era is rapidly picking up momentum.
Royal officials are considering to change Order of the British Empire to ‘Order of British ‘Excellence’ or to ‘Order of Elizabeth’. However, none of the changes are confirmed and in order to make it edit official, it needs to be approved by the UK government first.
