Daniel Craig has received the same honour as that bestowed on James Bond as he was honoured for services to film and theatre.
The actor was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George – the same honour held by Ian Fleming’s famous character – by the Princess Royal at the investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on Tuesday.
The Royal Family’s official social media pages used a famous phrase from the Bond movies as they shared a photo of the actor’s appearance at the castle in front of Princess Anne.
“We’ve been expecting you,” they captioned the photo.
We’ve been expecting you…
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) October 18, 2022
????️The Princess Royal presents Daniel Craig with The Order of St Michael and St George - the same honour held by his character James Bond - in recognition of his outstanding contribution to film and theatre. pic.twitter.com/X20TP6BogL
The 54-year-old has starred in the last five Bond films, first appearing in Casino Royale in 2006 and ending his run with No Time To Die in 2021.
Around the same time as the release of his last Bond movie, the actor was named an honorary officer of the Royal Navy. With that appointment, he also followed in the footsteps of Bond, who is a Royal Navy commander in the series.
While in character as 007, he made a famous appearance alongside the Queen in a sketch to mark the opening of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Film director, producer and screenwriter Paul Greengrass was also honoured for services to the industry, after directing several Hollywood blockbusters including three of the Bourne franchise films and Captain Phillips in 2013.
In the world of sport, tennis coach and senior performance adviser to the Lawn Tennis Association Louis Cayer said it was a “great honour” to be made an MBE.
Dame Emily Lawson, head of the Covid-19 vaccine programme for the UK until July 2021, said that “to some extent I don’t really feel like I deserve it”, upon receiving her honour from Anne.
“I think I did a really good job leading the programme partly because I was surrounded by amazing people and because the whole country wanted to support us, but it was a huge honour to be asked to do it,” Dame Emily told PA.
She added that leading the programme was “one of the hardest things, probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done” but “the way the whole country came together to deliver it is extraordinary, and I don’t know if we’ll ever see anything like that again”.
