in the name of love: The Queen Knights BONO

from Time Magazine's 2005 Man of the Year
to Knighthood in 2006,
U2's frontman is now recognized as
A Leader of the Free World....




from www.cnn.com:


LONDON, England

Bono --
the Irish rock star, anti-poverty campaigner, and philanthropist --
has been awarded an honorary British knighthood,
the British Embassy in Dublin said on Saturday.

"The British Embassy in Dublin
takes great pleasure in announcing that
Her Majesty The Queen has appointed Bono
to be an honorary Knight Commander
of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
in recognition of his services to the music industry
and for his humanitarian work,"
according to an embassy news release.

The British ambassador to Ireland, David Reddaway, is to give Bono
an "insignia of this honorary award" after New Year's
in a ceremony in the Irish capital.



The embassy pointed out that titles such as "Sir" or "Dame"
do not come with such honorary awards,
"conferred on citizens of countries
of which The Queen is not Head of State."

Bono is an Irish citizen.
Bob Geldof, the Irish rock star who organized the Live Aid concerts,
got the same award in 1986.




British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the award is well-deserved
for Bono's "remarkable" humanitarian work
and for his "outstanding contribution" to music with U2.

"I'll leave it to others far more knowledgeable than me
to talk about U2's music.
All I'll say is that,
along with millions of others right across the world,
I am a huge fan.

"But I feel a little more qualified
to talk about your personal commitment
to tackling global poverty and,
in particular, to Africa,"
Blair said in a letter to Bono
posted on the prime minister's office Web site.

"I want personally to thank you
for the invaluable role you played
in the run up to the Gleneagles G8 Summit.

"Without your personal contribution,
we could not have achieved the results we did.
So thank you and I look forward
to continuing to work together to maintain momentum on Africa,
and ensure leaders around the world meet the promises they have made."