At the beginning of the year it was announced that Star Trek The Next Generation’s Jean Luc Picard was on this year’s list to received a knighthood. And today in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, the Queen made it official. Details and photos from the event. Plus we have an update on the latest from Sir Patrick.
Make it Sir
According to the BBC, Sir Patrick Stewart paid tribute to a former teacher at the ceremony where he was knighted by the Queen, saying he owed "literally everything" to an English teacher who first encouraged him to perform. Stewart also spoke about the company he now finds himself in:
…as I grew up as a child, falling in love with the theatre and Shakespeare, my heroes were Sir Laurence Olivier [and] Sir John Gielgud. The knights of the theatre represented to me not only the pinnacle of the profession but the esteem in which the profession was held. To find myself, to my astonishment, in that company is the grandest thing that has professionally happened to me.
More details at BBC.co.uk
Photos:
Patrick Stewart being knighted – June 2nd 2010 in London
Patrick Stewart congratulated by the Queen – June 2nd 2010 in London
Sir Patrick Updates
PS Narrated Planetarium Show at Greenwich [through July 22nd]
The new "Violent Universe" show at the Harrison Planetarium at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England is narrated by Patrick Stewart. The show "takes visitors on a journey through supernovae, black holes and gamma ray bursts, as well as the possibility of an asteroid collision with Earth" and runs from May 22nd until July 22nd. More info at nmm.ac.uk.
90-minute interview with Stewart at Edinburgh Film Festival [June 21st]
Patrick will be the subject of the BAFTA in Scotland Interview at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. The 90-minute live event takes place at the Cineworld 2 on June 21st. More info at edfilmfest.org.uk.
PS on Broadway with "A Life in The Theatre" [previews start September 17th]
Patrick Stewart is returning to Broadway to star in David Mamet’s A Life in The Theatre. The show will run in the fall at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater, with previews starting September 17, 2010 ahead of a October 14th opening.
Photos: AP
I’m still going to call him Jean-Luc Picard.
Make it SO, Sir Stweart!
I’m still going to Jean-Luc Picard.
Sir ? Isn’t that a step down from CAPTAIN ?
… er, Sir Picard!
Well deserved, Sir Patrick!
Great pictures!
Congrats and well deserved. I’ve been a big fan from the very first epsode of TNG.
Arrrrrrrrr… good ta’ see. Now he and Sir Ben Kingsley can re-make “Tha’ Parent Trap” together.
Oh, I kidz cuz’ I luvs.
Great pics, indeed. Such a lovely honour.
Actually, now that he be knighted, Sir Patrick can get rid o’ that dragon I haves in me backyard… I know I’m not tha’ one settin’ all them fires!
Well… I do wear me hotpants outsides from time ta’ time…
Anyways, congrag’lations, Captain.
Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…
WOOOO
GO SIR CAPTAIN PICARD!
Congratulation! A long time coming.
There you go. And now off to Sitges. Shoo.
I’m all teary eyed! Congrats Sir Patrick!
Sir Patrick looks very proud in the pictures. And he has every right to as well. Congratulations, Sir!
It is a great moment indeed, by the looks of it.
But somehow, that first picture is unintentionally hilarious.
Right on, Sir Patrick. Good on ya!
I live 10 minutes away from the BAFTA interview site, how much do you think these tickets will cost?
#14 why hilarious? Its a great honour for Patrick.
I think we Trek fans can feel very proud of him and his achievements. I know I am. And I say that as no particular fan of TNG. But Patrick alone made it worth watching, certainly for me.
Would love to go see that live interview, but will be out of the country at the time. Figures!
Sir Patrick Stewart… has a nice ring to it.
See with these interviews, will meeting the man himself be possible?
I’m betting that goes ABOVE his picture of Picard as Robin Hood.
He’s also giving a 90 min interview at the cineworld in Edinburgh, Scotland on the 21st June! Part of the Edinburgh Film Festival
I think that man is incredible.
#14 – “There can be only One!” come to mind maybe?
At least that’s what went through my mind on first glance…
Thank you Sir Patrick for all the great theater you have brought us. I wish i was there to see you knighted in person!
#24 That’s what went through my mind.
QE is an immortal.
Wonderful! Although I’m sure the novelty of receiving titles from monarchical powers must have worn off by now, Picard having played saviour to his fair share of planets, civilisations and interstellar communities. Of course, what’s great about this title is that it will be highly regarded by people of the ‘real’ world too.
I’ve always wondered what ambivalence must be felt by any intelligent person fortunate enough to receive an award or token of respect from the Queen. As a purely ceremonial and essentially powerless individual one cannot help suffer some unease in considering the ‘worth’ of her congratulations, especially given the excessively undemocratic patronage-oriented political system in the United Kingdom (where the patrons are primarily responsible for selecting those ‘worthy’ of knighthood). I’m glad to see Stewart receive the honour, but remain ever uncertain as to what weight to put on it (as with other ceremonial titles).
Then again, I suppose this will always be an inherent problem with indistinct ‘qualifications’. It’s very difficult to run a ‘knight’s test’ in the same way as a PhD examination system. Media prominence sure helps, although it remains a highly inaccurate means of identifying hard work and real achievement. I will continue to value Stewart for the ostensible quality of his acting work, which I must say only serves to push him higher in my opinion.
Congratulations!
(“Silly English k-nigit!”)
Congratulations, Sir Patrick! This honor (or should it be “honour”?) was well-deserved.
#17: Thanks to the way the picture was taken, it looks like she’s about to decapitate him.
#6: Exactly. =P
*should’ve been #26*
Brilliant news and long overdue!
Sir Patrick and his family must be very proud.
My favourite Picard episode is ( as is many peoples) ‘The Inner Light’ but I have always found the scene in which he apologises to Worf in First Contact to be very touching.
Well done Sir Patrick
Congrats, Sir. BTW, I thought only a knight could make another knight.
OH MY GOD The Queen is trying to cut off the captain’s head!
#30 oh I see. No, QEII doesn’t do much of that these days. ;-)
#27 The Queen is held in very high regard in the UK and, indeed, around the world. To receive recognition from her is a great honour. However she will not have selected Patrick for the knighthood. It will likely have been the Government. The Queen is the individual that bestows the title on behalf of the Government. You can feel easy that Sir Patrick has not easily received this title. He has fully and well earned it.
As for its worth- well, it lifts Patrick into the elite of British acting. As he himself says. Which is where he fully deserves to be.
And he will find booking restaurant tickets has just got a whole lot easier. ;-)
#27 – The Queen is quite qualified for the role of head of state of the UK and several other realms, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand. She has been educated since birth to be head of state and is fluent in several languages…although her role is ceremonial, she is more qualified for her role than any president from any republic. From what I know, all politicians are in awe when in her presence…after all, she has been head of state for 60 years and has been a head of state through many things…a world war, other wars, terrorist attacks, etc….she’s seen a lot more than most politicians. As for ceremonial titles, it is less of a title and more of an honour. Knighthood now is for citizens who have done amazing things and contributed greatly to society. Knighthood aside, there are a lot of honours that the Queen bestows upon people that she chooses as they are her honours to bestow and not the governments.
As a Canadian, we do not use knighthood even though QEII is Queen of Canada, we have the Order of Canada which is equivalent to a knighthood. She and the Duke of Edinburgh will be in Canada for a week in July which is quite exciting!
Engage and God save the Queen!
#35. Oh no, don’t get me wrong, I’m not belittling my congratulations to Sir Patrick, I was just adding a little social commentary to give some context, since having a social following (as the Queen does) is not the same as genuine success, power or meaningfulness, and we should try distinguish between where respect is deserved and where it is not (where by looking at the ostensible contributions for ourselves, the criteria for which Stewart has shown an unwavering ability to fulfil). As a British citizen myself I am well aware of all the praise and unconditional respect given to the Queen, but I just thought our praise should be tempered by a more objective eye. The reason I mentioned patronage is exactly because we know it to be the ministers (et al.) who ‘recommend’ names to the Queen, and the political system is one of unwritten constitutions, ‘accepted practices’ and compulsory collective political responsibility. It is hard to determine the difference in meaningfulness of knighthoods between men like Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (controversial), Sir Bob Geldof (…) in the same way as it is the distinguish the value of titles in the House of Lords. Congratulating Patrick in light of our individual experiences of his work is far greater praise than congratulating his title – a more informed ‘bravo’, as befits an ‘intelligent franchise’s fan’s homage to one of its figureheads
A truly proud moment. Congratulations, Sir Patrick, you deserve it!
I’m surprised #2 didn’t tackle him for the spotlight. I’m still a Captian Kirk fan.
Well, this makes up for the Entertainment Weekly snub.
Kinda.
Sorry, please ignore my comments, I don’t mean to evoke a debate, the British monarchy is argued over in England enough as it is, and distracts us from the subject. Let’s just congratulate Patrick and I’ll be quiet.
Long Live Sir Patrick!
good to see him looking all Picard again instead of Mirror Picard
Congradulations Sir Patrick Stewart. May you live long and prosper.
Wonderful! And well deserved!
I wonder if the Queen thought it was Jean Luc Picard and tried to give him a French kiss?
Very nice!
And…
BRING BACK PICARD!!!
Star Trek 11: Abramsverse
Star Trek 12: TNG
Star Trek 13: Abramsverse
Star Trek 14: TNG
…
Congratulations Sir Stewart, I wish you all the best life has to offer under your new title.
Its not the end all be all but in my opinion you should have been knighted ages ago!
Congratulations Sir Patrick! A well-deserved honour.
Anyone else think he looks a little out of place in a 20th-century suit?
But we really also want Sir William of Shat, eh?