Curated playlist
British recipients of the Legion of Honour
- William, Prince of WalesAt 9:03 pm on the 21st of June 1982, William Arthur Philip Louis was born at St Mary's Hospital in London. He was the first direct heir to the British throne to be born in a hospital. Today he is William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to…
- T. S. EliotT. S. Eliot compared an evening sky to a patient on a surgical table.
- Elton JohnElton John sang "Candle in the Wind 1997" live only once, at Princess Diana's funeral. He wrote it days before.
- David Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd George had to be smuggled out of Birmingham disguised as a policeman.
- Elizabeth TaylorAfter Rock Hudson said he was dying of AIDS, Elizabeth Taylor helped found a research foundation in 1985.
- Paul McCartneyPaul McCartney traded a trumpet for a guitar and wrote his first song on it. His father had given him the trumpet.
- Queen CamillaQueen Camilla, born Camilla Rosemary Shand, is the second wife of King Charles III and queen of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms. In 1999, around 200 photographers and reporters from across the world crowded in to watch…
- Laurence OlivierLaurence Olivier's 1948 film Hamlet was the first non-American film to win Best Picture.
- Queen Elizabeth the Queen MotherAdolf Hitler is said to have called Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother "the most dangerous woman in Europe." The reason, according to the story, was her popularity, which he saw as a threat to German interests. She was born Elizabeth Angela…
- Robert StephensonRobert Stephenson twice turned down a knighthood. The railway engineer was offered it by Queen Victoria in 1849.
- T. E. LawrenceT. E. Lawrence wrote that he once crossed the Sinai Peninsula, from Aqaba to the Suez Canal, in just 49 hours without any sleep. His own notebooks say otherwise. The famous camel ride took more than 70 hours and included two long breaks…
- Jane GoodallJane Goodall had no university degree when she began studying chimpanzees. Cambridge still let her earn a doctorate.