According to the Mail on Sunday, Cabinet Office papers
obtained under the Freedom of Information Act disclose that George
turned down the “insensitive” offer of an OBE – after Paul McCartney was
awarded a knighthood.
George, who passed away in 2001, rejected the chance to be included in the New Year's Honours List in 2000.
The
OBE was recommended by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to
acknowledge Harrison’s significant contribution to the music industry.
The
citation read: “He was a member of a band that many people would say is
the best thing that Britain has ever produced, and possibly the best in
the world, The Beatles.”
However, journalist Ray Connolly, who
knew The Beatles, said George would have viewed the offer of an OBE as
a snub in comparison to McCartney’s 1997 knighthood.
“Whoever it
was who decided to offer him the OBE and not the knighthood was
extraordinarily insensitive,” he said. “George would have felt insulted –
and with very good reason.”
George, along with the rest of The
Beatles, was awarded an MBE in 1965, but John Lennon later sent his back
as a peace protest.
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