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The following is a partial list of people who have declined a British honour, such as a knighthood or other grade of honour. In recent times most refusals have been for appointment to the Order of the British Empire. In most cases, the offer of an honour was rejected privately; others were rejected publicly, or accepted and then returned later based upon future events, as with John Lennon and Rabindranath Tagore. Nowadays, potential recipients are contacted by government officials, well before any public announcement is made, to confirm in writing whether they wish to be put forward for an honour, thereby avoiding friction or controversy. However, some let it be known the offer was declined, and there are also occasional leaks from official sources. ==Reasons for rejection== People may reject state honours for various reasons, among which are: *Opposition to specific governmental actions or policy *Republicanism and anti-monarchism *Inappropriate due to the nature of the individual's work or position, or would attract unwanted attention *Lack of pretension, money to maintain an associated lifestyle (regarding peerages) or self-perceived lack of necessary social position *Anti-imperialism or general unwillingness to be associated with the former British Empire (especially with regards to the Order of the British Empire) *Inadequately recognises the individual or a spouse, partner, friend or colleague. *The archaic nature of the honour, notably with regards to peerages, knighthoods and baronetcies, or that honours conferring titles are meaningless in a modern society *Feelings that the honours system both reflects and reinforces social class distinctions, and diminishes the chance of a more equal and fairer society. *Biased nature of the honours system, or feelings that undeserving people have been decorated *To hide real wealth and business connections from the public realm Some potential recipients have rejected one honour then accepted another one (such as Sir Paul Macartney, Sir Alfred Hitchcock), or have initially refused an honour then accepted it , or have accepted one honour then declined another (such as actor Robert Morley and actress Vanessa Redgrave〔), or refused in the hope of another higher distinction (Roald Dahl refused being decorated as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE),〔 allegedly because he wanted a knighthood so that his wife would be entitled to the title "Lady Dahl").〔(Roald Dahl among hundreds who turned down Queen's honours ), ''Walesonline'' (also published in the ''Western Mail''), 27 January 2012; retrieved 7 January 2013.〕 Sometimes a potential recipient will refuse a knighthood or peerage, but will accept an honour that does not bestow a title (or Precedence), such as the Order of Merit (OM) or the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH): Bertrand Russell, E. M. Forster, Paul Scofield, Doris Lessing, Harold Pinter (although Pinter's widow, Lady Antonia Fraser, was later appointed a DBE), David Hockney, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Augustus John, Francis Crick and Paul Dirac are examples of this last category. The artist Francis Bacon refused all honours, allegedly on the grounds they "were so ageing". The record for refusing the most state honours is held by the artist L.S. Lowry. Some people have also rejected a life peerage. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Declining a British honour」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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