Rod Stewart knighted by Queen Elizabeth II

Rocker Rod Stewart has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in her annual Birthday Honors List, which also included recognition for astronaut Tim Peake and “Downton Abbey” star Penelope Wilton.

Stewart, the raspy-voiced singer of “Maggie May,” “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy” and “Some Guys have All the Luck,” was honored in Friday’s list “for services to music and charity.” The 71-year-old will be able to call himself Sir Roderick David Stewart.

  • Peake, who is nearing the end of a six-month stint aboard the International Space Station, was made a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, which recognizes “service rendered internationally or in a foreign country.”
  • There were also knighthoods for artist Michael Craig-Martin, Shakespeare scholar Stanley Wells and philosopher Roger Scruton.
  • Broadcasting duo Ant and Dec — Antony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly — were named Officers of the Order of the British Empire, or OBE, as were big-voiced actor Brian Blessed and actor-broadcaster Adil Ray.
  • Margaret Calvert, who designed many of the road signs used across Britain, received an OBE “for services to typography and road safety.”
  • James Watt and Martin Dickie, founders of beer company BrewDog, were named Members of the Order of the British Empire for services to brewing, and there was also an MBE for street artist Mohammed Ali, known as Aerosol Arabic.