??? about D. Beckhams medal..

[akhenaten]

I have heard he wore it on the wrong side... ???
But what I really want to know was it an actual medal he was awarded or was it simply jewelry

 

[SpecialK]

It's an actual medal - Order of the British Empire, for Meritorious Service.

There's debate about the wrong side thing.

 

[CurlyGirl]

Order of the British Empire.

Entertainment Tonight just mentioned it.

 

[akhenaten]

Thanks!!

 

[happygirl]

It's an actual medal - Order of the British Empire, for Meritorious Service.

There's debate about the wrong side thing.

So what does that mean lol

 

[akhenaten]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_British_Empire

I just looked it up.... there are several "levels" in the order... only the top two are knights/Dames... so he was honored but not Knighted

 

[SpecialK]

I'm guessing the Queen gave it to him because someone wanted to meet him.

 

[CurlyGirl]

I'm guessing the Queen gave it to him because someone wanted to meet him.

Well, they said William was a big fan of his .............

 

[MattsPrincess]

Well, for the U.S. Military, medals are worn on the left. I don't know whether or not it's the same for European or non-military medals, though. (i'm assuming that his is a non-military anyways)

 

[Hillbeans]

Celine Dion had a similar type of Medal awarded to her by President Sarkozy for performing in French all over the world. I guess it's like an honorary ambassador, good for him.

 

[Alphabetsoup]

Actually, people who are given OBEs are nominated and go through a long vetting process, during which the nominator has to prove and decision committee consider whether the person has performed some meritorious service for the British Empire.

OBE nominees do not even have to be living in the UK, they just need to be a citizen of a Commonwealth country. When I was living in Australia they always published the list of various OBE nominees each year, then would publish another list of those who were actually accepted for the award.

 

[happygirl]

They were saying not only did he wear it on the wrong side, he wasn't even supposed to wear it, only miltiary personnel were supposed to wear medals, to this sort of event.

 

[akhenaten]

Actually, people who are given OBEs are nominated and go through a long vetting process, during which the nominator has to prove and decision committee consider whether the person has performed some meritorious service for the British Empire.

OBE nominees do not even have to be living in the UK, they just need to be a citizen of a Commonwealth country. When I was living in Australia they always published the list of various OBE nominees each year, then would publish another list of those who were actually accepted for the award.

Thank you..

 

[tennisfan]

They were saying not only did he wear it on the wrong side, he wasn't even supposed to wear it, only miltiary personnel were supposed to wear medals, to this sort of event.

I think they are wrong in saying that he shouldn't have worn it, none of the British media have mentioned this only that it was on the wrong side. They can be worn in the presence of royalty & only then. I think they can wear the ribbon other times.

 

[agnes!]

The man should have Googled it then , hey, there's probably something on Wikipedia about which side to wear it on and when one is supposed to wear it.

But hey, if all that went wrong at this wedding was that the Duchess of Cornwall almost kissed the Queen out of turn and David Beckham wore his OBE medal on the wrong side?...I'm thinking it was a good day and a great wedding. There were so many things that *could* have happened...


agnes!

 

[Loftus]

They're also awarded to non-British or Commonwealth citizens. They receive honorary awards and so are not entitled to use any title that goes with it but can use the letters after their name if they wish and custom in their country allows it.
Quite a few notable US citizens have been honoured including:-

Douglas Fairbanks Jr
Bob Hope (Who of course used to be a British citizen)
Steven Spielberg
George Bush Senior
Rudy Giuliani
Alan Greenspan
Ronald Reagan
John Warner
Casper Weinberger
Colin Powell
Dwight D Eisenhower
Norman Schwarzkopf
Bill Gates
Billy Graham

and many others.