Beatles: 60 years ago they were awarded the MBE by the Queen

London, 26 October 1965. On that autumn morning, the Beatles crossed the gates of Buckingham Palace for a moment as solemn as it was unusual for four boys growing up in Liverpool: the awarding of the decoration of MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II.

The context and the arrival

The appointment had been announced months earlier, as part of the list of honors for the Queen’s birthday, already causing a stir because awarding official recognition to a musical group was seen by some as sacrilege.

Immediately after the announcement, dozens of decorated former Order of the British Empire reacted with outrage.

According to reports at the time, several members of the Order returned their medals in protest.

Colonel Frederick Wagg, a war veteran, returned his MBE stating: “I earned mine on the battlefield, not on a stage.”

Stanley Ellis, a former Royal Navy petty officer, wrote that the award to the Beatles “devalued the honour”.

Other decorated men sent letters of protest to the Times, calling the decision “a farce” and “an insult to the servants of the State and the Empire”.

The arrival and the ceremony

That October 26, 1965, just before 11 in the morning, the four – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – arrived in a Rolls-Royce owned by Lennon, greeted by around 4,000 enthusiastic supporters. The police had to contain the crowd, with fans climbing onto lampposts and gates just to see their idols parade towards the royal court.

In the throne room, designated for the ceremony, the Beatles were led by court officials who indicated to them step by step the protocol to be observed: “approach like this, never turn your back on the Sovereign, do not speak unless she addresses you”.

The Lord Chamberlain called out the names of the four one by one. They advanced with a bow, stopped in front of the Queen, greeted her with deference and had the cross of honor pin applied to their jacket. After returning the greeting, they retreated into line.

During the exchange with the Queen, Paul was asked “How long have you been together?” and he replied “Many years”, to which Ringo jokingly added “Forty years”, causing the Sovereign to laugh.

John, with a hint of embarrassment, later recalled that the Queen asked him if they had worked much lately; he naively replied that they had been on “a holiday” – even though they were in the midst of recording the album Rubber Soul.

There was no shortage of curious background: John later claimed that he and the others “had a joint in the palace bathrooms” shortly before the ceremony, to calm their nerves.
Later George Harrison denied John’s version: according to him he had perhaps smoked a normal cigarette, but nothing more.

The release, the press and the reactions

Once the ceremony was over, the Beatles left the building amid cheers and shouts: young fans were waiting for them in front of the gates, photographers and journalists pointed lenses and microphones. Immediately afterwards, a press conference was held in the bar room of the Savile Theatre.

Journalist:
“How did you first find out you were about to receive recognition?”

George Harrison:
“Paul was going through a pile of fan mail in our dressing room a few weeks ago, and found an envelope with ‘From the Prime Minister’ written on it. It must have been there for at least a couple of days.
He opened it and inside was a letter saying that he was being considered for an honor, and that he needed to sign the attached form.
We said, ‘Maybe we have one too!’ and we dug into the rest of the mail… and in the end we discovered that there was one for each of us.”

Paul McCartney:
“We thought MBE meant “Mr Brian Epstein -he’s our manager, after all.”

Journalist:
“Why do you think they awarded you this honor?”

Ringo Starr:
“Did you see how many dollars we brought home from America?”

John Lennon:
“And we also paid quite a bit of taxes to the government, didn’t we?”

Journalist:
“Do you think you really deserve this recognition?”

George Harrison:
“It’s not for us to say. If the Queen thought to give it to us, it must be because we deserved it, right?”

Journalist:
“What will you do with your medal?”

George Harrison:
“I’ll hang it on the wall.”

Ringo Starr:
“I’ll wear it around my neck.”

Paul McCartney:
“I’ll keep it in a safe place.”

John Lennon:
“I think I’ll have it turned into a doorbell so people will have to press it when they come to my house. Or I’ll take it to get it appraised to find out how much it’s really worth.”

John Lennon’s sensational protest

In later years, the issue would resurface when John Lennon officially returned his honor on November 25, 1969. That day, an emissary brought to Buckingham Palace an envelope addressed to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, containing the MBE medal and three covering letters: one for the Queen, one for Prime Minister Harold Wilson and one for the Secretary of the Order of the British Empire.

Lennon justified the gesture as a political and cultural protest:

“Your Majesty,
I am returning my MBE as a protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam and against ‘Cold Turkey’ slipping down the charts.
With love. John Lennon of Bag”.