Is Ed Sheeran Knighted?

With 115 awards and more than 324 nominations to his name, it’s fair to say that English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is a big name in the music industry. But when you have 4 Brit awards, 4 Grammy awards, and 3 MTV awards, what is there left to achieve? Are there any accolades left on Ed Sheeran’s bucket list?

Ed Sheeran is not knighted, but he does have an MBE which means he is a Member of the Order of the British Empire. The award was bestowed to Sheeran just months after he was involved in a pretend knighting incident with Princess Beatrice and James Blunt. 

A party involving a member of the British royal family, singer James Blunt and Grammy award winner Ed Sheeran sure sounds like an eclectic mix. So how did the trio cross paths? Keep reading to find out.

Ed Sheeran MBE

In June 2017 it was revealed that British singer Ed Sheeran was featured on Queen Elizabeth II’s annual Birthday Honours List and was set to become an MBE. Buckingham Palace cited Ed’s contribution towards music and charity as the motivation behind the award, and they declared that a formal ceremony would take place in due course. This occurred less than six months later on December 7th,2017. 

So what exactly is an MBE and what does it entitle Ed too? Well, an MBE is one of the five classes of appointment awarded by the British Empire. It is ranked in third place, behind CBE and OBE. 

Though an MBE does not confer Ed the title of ‘sir’ or ‘knight’, it does offer a great deal of respect. According to The Crown Chronicles, as well as a silver medal, the award entitles Ed to use ‘MBE’ after his surname.

In terms of the ceremony, MBEs are usually given by the Queen. However, due to her age and slow decline in royal duties, Ed’s award was bestowed by her son, Prince Charles. 

And this wasn’t the only tradition broken. Unfortunately, during the ceremony, Ed disobeyed another vital practice. Speaking to Today, Sheeran said:

“Apparently I did a big faux pas though. I shook his hand and then grabbed it and you’re not meant to do that”.

However, it seems the mistake was soon shaken off, as Ed and Charles were captured smiling and chatting. 

“He asked me if I was still selling lots of records, and I told him I’ve got a concert in New York tomorrow. He was quite surprised I was flying after this”, Ed told MTV. 

Does this mean Prince Charles is an Ed Sheeran fan? Who could blame him?

In fact, it seems the feeling is mutual. While Ed has won many different awards and accolades through his career, being awarded an MBE was particularly momentous for Ed. This is probably due to the close relationship he had with his royalist grandfather. 

“My grandfather, he had all the commemorative plates and stuff. He died on this day four years ago, so it’s actually quite a nice full-circle thing. I guess he’d be pretty proud”, Clarence House tweeted. 

A Royal Incident 

Surprisingly, this isn’t the only taste of royalty that Ed Sheeran has experienced. Back in November 2016, Ed attended a party thrown by Princess Beatrice at the Royal Lodge in Windsor. 

Following the party, reports emerged that Ed had been rushed to hospital after Beatrice slashed his face open with a ceremonial sword. The incident is said to have occurred after singer James Blunt joked that he would love a knighthood, and Beatrice wanted to play along. 

Instead of lightly tapping James on the shoulder with the sword, Beatrice swung back without realizing that Ed was standing behind her. The gash forced Ed to cut the party short as he raced to the hospital to get stitches. 

However, it later emerged that the story was a complete fabrication. In an interview with ShortList, Blunt confirmed: “Ed was drunk, messing around and he cut himself. […] We made a fancy story up; people fell for it. It was very embarrassing” 

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