# Why were Reagan and Bush knighted? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 24, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-reagan-and-bush-knighted/583026 "2011-05-24T16:18:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-reagan-and-bush-knighted/583026/1 "2011-05-24T16:18:48Z")
With Obama meeting the queen, I got to wondering about US presidents getting knighted, and how weird that would be. Google tells me only Reagan and Bush were knighted, after their terms. For giggles, what would happen if Obama accepted a knighthood while being president? Will Obama ever be knighted? It doesn’t seem to be something US presidents other than a couple well-known half-crazy attention whores would covet. Or, is the queen really stingy with it and only gives it to members of her not-so-secret Republican Christian Conservative New World Order for Satan Party? She should be more discreet really. Any other less plausible reasons only Reagan and Bush were knighted? ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-reagan-and-bush-knighted/583026/2 "2011-05-24T17:20:23Z")
Article I, Section 9, US Constitution: No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-reagan-and-bush-knighted/583026/3 "2011-05-24T17:21:52Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Any other less plausible reasons only Reagan and Bush were knighted? It’s a Lizard Person thing. Best you don’t get into the details. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-reagan-and-bush-knighted/583026/4 "2011-05-24T17:24:05Z")
Here’s a quote about Reagans knighthood: “Harold Brooks-Baker, publishing director of Burke’s Peerage, said Monday that Mr. Reagan was offered a knighthood ‘because of his special contribution to the British Government under Mrs. Thatcher.’ ‘He helped Mrs. Thatcher in the Falklands War and in many different ways,’ he said.” ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-reagan-and-bush-knighted/583026/5 "2011-05-24T17:28:59Z")
They’re not real knighthoods anyway, because they’re not British or Commonwealth citizens. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-reagan-and-bush-knighted/583026/6 "2011-05-24T17:38:59Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Or, is the queen really stingy with it and only gives it to members of her not-so-secret Republican Christian Conservative New World Order for Satan Party? She should be more discreet really. It’s not really up to the Queen. The vast majority of honours are selected by honours committees and approved by government ministers, for the Queen to rubber-stamp. Reagan, for example, was probably Margaret Thatcher’s idea. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-reagan-and-bush-knighted/583026/7 "2011-05-24T18:50:06Z")
Eisenhower was also knighted but it was in 1945 before he became President. These three are the only American Presidents who have been knighted. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-reagan-and-bush-knighted/583026/8 "2011-05-24T22:51:33Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Eisenhower was also knighted but it was in 1945 before he became President. These three are the only American Presidents who have been knighted. You forgot Sir John Ryan… ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-reagan-and-bush-knighted/583026/9 "2011-05-25T02:26:14Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Eisenhower was also knighted but it was in 1945 before he became President. These three are the only American Presidents who have been knighted. Did he have to give up his knighthood when he became President in 1953? ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-reagan-and-bush-knighted/583026/10 "2011-05-25T02:33:28Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > It’s not really up to the Queen. The vast majority of honours are selected by honours committees and approved by government ministers, for the Queen to rubber-stamp. Reagan, for example, was probably Margaret Thatcher’s idea. The Order of the Garter, Order of the Thistle, and the Royal Victorian Order are with the sovereign’s personal gift. The Queen alone decides who get’s those. All other titles & decorations are granted on the advice of her ministers. > [@SciFiSam](#): > > They’re not real knighthoods anyway, because they’re not British or Commonwealth citizens. Correct. They get the letters after their name, but not the right to be called Sir Ronald Reagan or Sir George Bush. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-reagan-and-bush-knighted/583026/11 "2011-05-25T11:02:10Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Article I, Section 9, US Constitution: > > No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State. That doesn’t apply after they have finished serving. Or even beforehand as long as they don’t claim the benefits of the title while serving. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-reagan-and-bush-knighted/583026/12 "2011-05-25T11:21:45Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > **Why were Reagan and Bush knighted?** Because it’s an appropriate reward for people whose minds are stuck in the Middle Ages? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-reagan-and-bush-knighted/583026/13 "2011-05-25T16:52:04Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Because it’s an appropriate reward for people whose minds are stuck in the Middle Ages? 😃 You win the thread. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-reagan-and-bush-knighted/583026/14 "2011-05-27T13:28:36Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > Did he have to give up his knighthood when he became President in 1953? No, because it was only an honorary award to begin with. I am not sure what exactly is the difference between an “honorary” knighthood" and an “official” knighthood, but apparently you can be stripped of US citizenship over it. The Constitution only forbids titles to people on the government payroll, but there is some legislation in the US Code that also forbids it to private citizens, as well. A British “order of chivalry” typically has five ranks: Knight Grand Cross Knight Commander Commander Officer Member Commoners are eligible to recieve the bottom three ranks, and Knights are eligible to recieve the top two grades. The “Knighthood” and the “Order” are technically separate entities. With foreigners, the crown bestows an “honorary” order, which sidesteps the legal issues. In a continental European order, the ranks are usually: Grand Commander Grand Officer Commander Officer Chevalier Technically, “chevalier” means the same as “knight”, but US citizens receive continental orders all the time, and the US government doesn’t bat an eye. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-reagan-and-bush-knighted/583026/15 "2011-05-27T16:39:46Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > I am not sure what exactly is the difference between an “honorary” knighthood" and an “official” knighthood, but apparently you can be stripped of US citizenship over it. That would be insane. Knighthoods are granted by foreign states. If that’s true, then any country can unilaterally put any person at risk of losing citizenship. > [@mbh](#): > > A British “order of chivalry” typically has five ranks: Only two in history have had five ranks (the Royal Victorian Order and the Order of the British Empire). The majority have had fewer (either three or one). > [@mbh](#): > > Technically, “chevalier” means the same as “knight”, but US citizens receive continental orders all the time, and the US government doesn’t bat an eye. Does the US government really bat an eye about this stuff _at all_? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-reagan-and-bush-knighted/583026/16 "2011-05-27T16:45:50Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Does the US government really bat an eye about this stuff _at all_? I’m constantly amazed at what we care about sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-reagan-and-bush-knighted/583026/17 "2011-05-27T18:39:13Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Commoners are eligible to recieve the bottom three ranks, and Knights are eligible to recieve the top two grades. There are plenty commoners who are Order of the Garter, the highest rank of chivalry in England (Margaret Thatcher and John Major for a start). Anyway, all the cool kids are Order of Merit. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-reagan-and-bush-knighted/583026/18 "2011-05-27T18:42:09Z")
And saying that “knights are eligible to receive the top two grades” is a bit of a tautology. A substantive appointment to one of those grades _makes_ you a knight. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-reagan-and-bush-knighted/583026/19 "2011-05-27T19:38:24Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > No, because it was only an honorary award to begin with. I am not sure what exactly is the difference between an “honorary” knighthood" and an “official” knighthood, but apparently you can be stripped of US citizenship over it. The Constitution only forbids titles to people on the government payroll, but there is some legislation in the US Code that also forbids it to private citizens, as well. Cite. I do not believe that the Us can “strip” someone of their citizenship because they were given a title. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-reagan-and-bush-knighted/583026/20 "2011-05-27T19:57:54Z")
Maybe to render them [open to chivalrous challenges and trials](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0yYwBzKAyY)?