WASHINGTON: Brian May, the lead guitarist for the rock band Queen, has been knighted by King Charles along with renowned artists John Akomfrah and Grayson Perry.
May, 75, received the title of Knight Bachelor for his services to music and to charity, according to a list of 2023 honourees published in the British royal family's official newspaper The Gazette.
He was among 19 people who received the Knights Bachelor title and more than 1,000 others who received various honours from the crown, United Press International (UPI) reported.
"Thank you so much for all your messages of congratulations following the announcement of my knighthood," May said in a video posted to Instagram on Friday.
"I'm very thrilled and very touched by the love that's come from you and the support. I will do my very best to be worthy," he added.
May, considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time, was previously appointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2005.
He has received countless accolades including being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Queen and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
In addition to his accomplishments with the band, May earned a PhD in astrophysics from Imperial College in London in 2007 and has collaborated with NASA's New Horizons mission and has long campaigned for animal welfare.
Perry, an accomplished artist known for his ceramic vases and tapestries, has had solo exhibitions at world-class museums including the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the British Museum, the Serpentine Gallery in London and the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.
Akomfrah, 65, is a British artist of Ghanian descent who has taught courses at prestigious universities including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brown University, New York University, Westminster University and Princeton University.
His work, which often focuses on Black British identity, has been exhibited at museums include Tate Britain, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the British Film Institute. -- Bernama