Knight bachelor

Knight Bachelor
The insignia of a Knight Bachelor devised in 1926
Awarded by Sovereign of the United Kingdom
Awarded for	the monarch's pleasure
Status	Currently constituted
Sovereign	Queen Elizabeth II
Statistics
Established	11th century
Precedence
Next (higher)	Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) and Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE)
Next (lower)	Lower-level judges et al.
Ribbon for a Knight Bachelor

The appointment of Knight Bachelor (Kt) is a part of the British honours system.

It is the most basic and lowest rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry. Knights Bachelor are the most ancient sort of British knight (the rank existed during the 13th century reign of King Henry III), but Knights Bachelor rank below knights of the various orders.

There is no female counterpart to Knight Bachelor. The lowest knightly honour that can be conferred upon a woman is Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE) – which, technically, is one rank higher than Knight Bachelor (being the female equivalent of 'KBE' or Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, which is the next male knightly rank above Knight Bachelor). Also, foreigners cannot be created Knights Bachelor; instead they are generally made honorary KBEs.

It is generally awarded for public service; amongst its recipients are all male judges of Her Majesty's High Court of Justice in England. It is possible to be a Knight Bachelor and a junior member of an order of chivalry without being a knight of that order; this situation has become rather common, especially among those recognised for achievements in entertainment. For instance, Sir Ian Holm, Sir Michael Gambon, Sir Derek Jacobi, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sir Elton John, Sir Michael Caine, Sir Bruce Forsyth, and Sir Ian McKellen are Commanders of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBEs), as were Sir John Hurt, Sir Christopher Lee, Sir Peter Ustinov, Sir Alec Guinness, Sir David Fredrick Attenbrough, Sir Michael Hordern and Sir Michael Redgrave. Sir Patrick Stewart, and Sir Tom Jones are Officers of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBEs), and Sir Paul McCartney is a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE). None of them would be entitled to use the honorific "Sir" by virtue of their membership of the order alone, but as they are all also Knights Bachelor, they are entitled to preface their names with that title.