Former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani received an honorary knighthood from the Queen on Wednesday, as he was praised by the British monarch for his leadership in the wake of the September terrorist attacks on the US. Accompanied to the Buckingham Palace ceremony by girlfriend Judy Nathan, Mr Giuliani dedicated the award to the people of New York, and also gave thanks to the Queen and Great Britain for their support.
Dressed in a dark suit, Giuliani bowed as he greeted Her Majesty, and shook her hand after she presented him with his medal in a silk-lined box. “I was receiving it not on behalf of myself, but all the police officers and firefighters and rescue workers, heroic people of New York,” he said shortly after the ceremony.
The Queen told the former statesman she’d watched the September 11 tragedy unfold on TV, and wished him the best, saying: I hope you have less stress in your life now.” In response, Mr Giuliani thanked the Queen for her “tremendous support” in the months after the attack on behalf of “all the people of New York and America” . Said the ex-mayor: “We need good friends and we have no better friends than Great Britain.”
As he is not a British citizen, Mr Giuliani, who was honoured with a Knight Of The British Empire (KBE), did not kneel in front of the Queen, nor was he tapped on the shoulders with a sword as would be done for a full British knight. And although the man known to New Yorkers as “Rudy” will not be allowed to call himself Sir Rudolph, he will be able to use the initials KBE (Knight Of The British Empire) after his name.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
