List of people who have declined a British honour

The following is a partial list of people who have declined a British honour, such as a knighthood or other grade of honour. In recent times most refusals have been for appointment to the Order of the British Empire.

In most cases, the offer of an honour was rejected privately; others were rejected publicly, or accepted and then returned later based upon future events, as with John Lennon and Rabindranath Tagore. Nowadays, potential recipients are contacted by government officials, well before any public announcement is made, to confirm in writing whether they wish to be put forward for an honour, thereby avoiding friction or controversy. However, some let it be known the offer was declined, and there are also occasional leaks from official sources.

People may reject state honours for various reasons, among which are:

Some potential recipients have rejected one honour then accepted another one (such as Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Alfred Hitchcock), or have initially refused an honour then accepted it, or have accepted one honour then declined another (such as actor Robert Morley and actress Vanessa Redgrave), or refused in the hope of another higher distinction (Roald Dahl refused being decorated as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), allegedly because he wanted a knighthood so that his wife would be entitled to the title "Lady Dahl").

Since John Key restored the New Zealand Order of Merit to the pre-2000 British Monarch system, Richie McCaw has repeatedly declined knighthood after winning the 2011 Rugby World Cup. In December 2011, Prime Minister John Key revealed that he had asked McCaw about the possibility of a knighthood in the 2012 New Year Honours, but that McCaw had turned it down. According to Key, "He made the call that he's still in his playing career and it didn't feel quite right for him, that day where he's no longer on the pitch may be the right time for him." No formal offer was ultimately made. McCaw was appointed a member of New Zealand's highest honour, the Order of New Zealand, which does not bestow a title, in the 2016 New Year Honours. The honour surpassed the knighthood he had previously turned down prior to his retirement because only 20 living New Zealanders can gain membership at any one time.

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