London (CNN) Legendary rock guitarist Brian May has received a knighthood from Britain’s King Charles III.
May, who was a founding member of the band Queen, will now be known as Sir Brian after the investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.
May was honored for services to music and charity.
The star received the title of Knight Bachelor for his services to music and charity. He attended the ceremony with his wife, Anita Dobson, a former star of the long-running British TV soap “EastEnders.”
Congratulations to him online, one tweet from Queen’s official account said: “Stand up Sir Brian May
“Brian’s installation as a Knight of the Realm took place today at Buckingham Palace. The knighthood was presented to Brian by His Royal Highness, King Charles.
“Congratulations, Sir Brian!”
Brian May appeared at the platinum party for the late Queen Elizabeth II in front of Buckingham Palace last year.
There was also a notice on the royal family’s official Twitter account about the event and features May alongside British saxophonist YolanDa Brown, who was also honored.
May, 75, was one of more than 1,000 people to be honored in King Charles III’s first New Year Honors List, announced in December 2022.
As well as performing with Queen since the 1970s, May is also an astrophysicist. He received his Ph.D. in astrophysics from Imperial College London in 2007 after taking a break from his studies in the 1970s to focus on the band.
He is also a vocal supporter of animal rights and a critic of hunting. In 2010 he formed an organization called Save Me Trust to campaign against fox hunting and badger culling in the UK.
May is not the only member of Queen to receive a royal title. Drummer Roger Taylor was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2020. May previously received the title of Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2005.
May famously performed a rendition of “God Save the Queen” from the roof of Buckingham Palace at Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee in 2002.
Twenty years later, he appeared with Queen at the same monarch’s platinum jubilee concert.