Order of the British Empire

==People who declined Order of the British Empire honours==

{{See also|List of people who have declined a British honour}}
In 2003, ''The Sunday Times'' published a list of the people who had rejected the Order of the British Empire, including [[David Bowie]], [[John Cleese]], [[Nigella Lawson]], [[Elgar Howarth]], [[L. S. Lowry]], [[George Melly]], and [[J. G. Ballard]].<ref name = mcgavin>{{Cite web|first=Henry|last=McGavin|date=22 December 2003|title=Honoured? No thanks, say elite of arts and TV|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/honoured-no-thanks-say-elite-of-arts-and-tv-83635.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/honoured-no-thanks-say-elite-of-arts-and-tv-83635.html |archive-date=24 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|website=Independent|accessdate=4 March 2018}}</ref>  In addition, Ballard voiced his opposition to the honours system, calling it "a preposterous charade".<ref name = mcgavin/>

The order has attracted some criticism for its naming having connection with the idea of the now-extinct [[British Empire]].<ref name=FifthReport>[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmpubadm/212/21209.htm A reformed Honours system], Select Committee on Public Administration, 7 July 2004, Retrieved 13 May 2012</ref> [[Benjamin Zephaniah]], a British poet of [[British Jamaicans|Jamaican]] and [[Barbadian British|Barbadian]] descent, publicly rejected appointment as an Officer in 2003 because, he asserted, it reminded him of "thousands of years of brutality". He also said that "it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised".<ref>{{Cite web|first=Merope|last=Mills|date=27 November 2003|title=Rasta poet publicly rejects his OBE|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/nov/27/iraq.monarchy|website=The Guardian|accessdate=31 July 2015}}</ref>

The author [[C. S. Lewis]] (1898–1963) was named on the last list of honours by [[George VI]] in December 1951. Despite being a [[monarchist]], he declined so as to avoid association with any political issues.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cslewis.org/resources/chronocsl.html |title=Chronology of the Life of C. S. Lewis |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206021046/http://www.cslewis.org/resources/chronocsl.html |archivedate=6 February 2012 }}</ref><ref name="Letters of C.S. Lewis">{{cite book|last=C.S.|first=Lewis|title=Letters of C. S. Lewis|year=1994|publisher=Mariner Books|location=New York|isbn=978-0-15-650871-1|pages=528|url=https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0156508710/heroesofhistory|editor=W. H. Lewis, Walter Hooper}}</ref>

In 2019, [[John Oliver]] turned down an offer of an OBE, which would have been part of the [[2020 New Year Honours|Queen's New Year's Honours]] list.<ref>{{cite podcast |url=https://teamcoco.com/podcasts/conan-obrien-needs-a-friend/episodes/john-oliver |title=Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend – John Oliver Episode 42 |website= TeamCoco.com |publisher=Team Coco |host=Conan O'Brien |date=21 October 2019 |time=52:35 |access-date=5 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Nunn |first1=Christina |date=21 January 2021 |title=John Oliver Rejected Queen Elizabeth's Royal Award — 'Why on Earth Would I Want That?' |url=https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/john-oliver-rejected-queen-elizabeths-royal-award-why-on-earth-would-i-want-that.html/ |access-date=5 October 2022 |website=Showbiz Cheat Sheet}}</ref>

[[The Beatles]] were appointed Members in 1965: [[John Lennon]] justified his investiture by comparing military membership in the Order: "Lots of people who complained about us receiving the MBE [status] received theirs for heroism in the war – for killing people ... We received ours for entertaining other people. I'd say we deserve ours more". Lennon later returned his MBE insignia on 25 November 1969, as part of his ongoing peace protests.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Roylance|first1=Brian|last2=Harrison|first2=George|last3=Lennon|first3=John|last4=McCartney|first4=Paul|last5=Starr|first5=Ringo|title=The Beatles Anthology|publisher=Chronicle Books|year=2000|pages=[https://archive.org/details/beatlesanthology0000unse/page/183 183]|isbn=978-0-8118-2684-6|url=https://archive.org/details/beatlesanthology0000unse/page/183}}</ref> Other criticism centres on the view that many recipients of the Order are being rewarded with honours for simply doing their jobs; critics say that the Civil Service and Judiciary receive far more orders and honours than leaders of other professions.<ref name=FifthReport/>

[[Chin Peng]], a veteran guerrilla fighter of the [[Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army]], was appointed as an Officer for his role in fighting against the [[Japanese occupation of Malaya]] during [[World War II]], in close co-operation with the British commando [[Force 136#Malayan Communist Party|Force 136]]. Several years after WWII, his OBE membership was withdrawn by the British government (and became undesirable to Chin Peng himself) when the Communist leader headed his party's guerrilla insurgency against the British Empire during the [[Malayan Emergency]].<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,806357,00.html Dead or Alive] {{subscription required}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721155759/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,806357,00.html |date=21 July 2013 }} ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', 12 May 1952</ref>