London (CNN) Legendary rock guitarist Brian May has been knighted by Britain’s King Charles III.
May, who was a founding member of the band Queen, will now be known as Sir Brian, following the investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.
May was honored for services to music and charity.
The star received the title of Knight Bachelor for his services to music and charity. He attended the ceremony with his wife Anita Dobson, a former star of the long-running British TV soap opera EastEnders.
Congratulate him online, a tweet of Queen’s official account said, “Get up, Sir Brian May
“Brian’s investiture as a Knight of The Realm took place today at Buckingham Palace. The knighthood was presented to Brian by His Royal Highness, King Charles.
“Congratulations, Sir Brian!”
Brian May performed at the Platinum Party for the late Queen Elizabeth II in front of Buckingham Palace last year.
There was also a message about it the royal family’s official Twitter account about the event, with May pictured alongside British saxophonist YolanDa Brown, who was also honored.
May, 75, was one of more than 1,000 people honored on King Charles III’s first New Year’s Honor Roll, which was announced in December 2022.
As well as performing with Queen since the 1970s, May is also an astrophysicist. He received his PhD in astrophysics from Imperial College London in 2007 after taking a break from his studies in the 1970s to concentrate on band work.
He is also an outspoken animal rights advocate and critic of hunting. In 2010, he founded an organization called Save Me Trust, to campaign against fox hunting and badger culling in the UK.
May isn’t the only member of Queen to have been awarded a royal title. Drummer Roger Taylor was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2020. May previously received the title of Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2005.
May famously performed a rendition of “God Save the Queen” from the roof of Buckingham Palace during Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee in 2002.
Twenty years later, he performed with Queen for the same monarch’s Platinum Jubilee Concert.