Entertainment
Oscar-winning director Sir Sam Mendes knighted at Windsor Castle
Sir Sam attended the ceremony with his wife, trumpeter Alison Balsom (Picture: PA)
Bond film director Sir Sam Mendes was knighted at Windsor Castle on Tuesday alongside a host of famous faces, including stars from the entertainment world, political luminaries and a close royal aide.
The cinema heavyweight received his gong for services to drama at a ceremony hosted by the Princess Royal, while stars of the small screen including Vicar Of Dibley co-writer Paul Mayhew-Archer and Emmerdale theme tune creator Tony Hatch also picked up honours.
Sir Sam won the best director award at the Oscars in 1999 for his first film, American Beauty, and he co-wrote, directed and produced the Oscar-winning 1917 in 2019, which was inspired by his grandfather’s stories of the First World War.
He has also been heavily involved with the theatre scene, working with Chichester Festival Theatre after graduation and enjoying a 12-year run as artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse until 2002.
His West End shows have included Cabaret, Oliver!, The Blue Room with Nicole Kidman and The Lehmen Trilogy for the National Theatre.
Sir Sam also directed two Bond films, 2012’s Skyfall and 2015’s Spectre.
Sir Sam is now a Knight (Picture: PA)
Sir Sam’s investiture ceremony was carried out by the Princess Royal (Picture: PA)
Next autumn marks his first foray into solo screen writing, with the release of Empire Of Light, starring Olivia Colman.
Set on the south coast of England in the 1980s, the film will also be directed by Sir Sam alongside cinematographer Roger Deakins and producer Pippa Harris.
Meanwhile, Mayhew-Archer, 68, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2011, was made an MBE for services to people with the disease after presenting an award-winning BBC comedy documentary about his experience in 2016.
He revealed he was ‘quite glad’ to have received the diagnosis because it opened him up to a new and unexpected career in stand-up comedy.
Speaking to the PA news agency afterwards, he revealed: ‘I now love performing comedy about Parkinson’s and about the need to laugh and the therapeutic value of laughter.
Sir Sam with his wife Alison (Picture: PA)
‘So I now travel around the country wherever there’s any sort of audience and inflict my show upon people whether they like it or not.
‘I aim to raise laughs, spirits, awareness and dosh. It’s a new career and it’s extraordinary.’
Hatch, 82, whose songs have been featured in more than 100 films and countless TV productions while being performed by stars including Sir Paul McCartney, Frank Sinatra, Dolly Parton and Dame Shirley Bassey, collected an OBE for services to music and charity.
Oboist Professor Nicholas Daniel was made an OBE for services to music, and trombonist Roy Williams an MBE for services to jazz.
Paul Mayhew-Archer with his MBE (Picture: PA)
Dr Ibrar Majid, a surgeon who treated the young victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack, will collect an MBE for services to healthcare and community development in the city.
Meanwhile, political power couple Sharon White and Robert Chote were made a Dame and a Knight.
Dame Sharon, the first female chairwoman of the John Lewis Partnership and former boss of media watchdog Ofcom, was recognised for her public service, while eminent economist Sir Robert, ex-head of the Office for Budget Responsibility, is honoured for services to fiscal policy.
More: Sam Mendes
After attending the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at Windsor Castle in 2018, Harry and Meghan’s former aide, Clara Loughran, returned to the Queen’s Berkshire residence to be made a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (RVO).
Professor Mark O’Shea, a world authority on reptiles, received his MBE for, among other things, snakebite research.
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