Lewis Hamilton receives knighthood days after Abu Dhabi F1 heartbreak


Neil Murphy
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British racing driver Lewis Hamilton has received a knighthood during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle.

Sir Lewis was awarded the honour on Wednesday by Prince Charles for his services to motorsport over a glittering two-decade career.

He was joined by his mother Carmen Lockhart and was all smiles as they posed for pictures in the castle’s quadrangle.

When congratulated on his award, Hamilton said: “Thank you.”

It comes days after Hamilton, 36, narrowly missed out on a record eighth Formula One world title to his rival, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.

The nail-biting championship was clinched during the controversial final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The introduction of the safety car after a late crash at the Yas Marina Circuit wiped out Hamilton's lead and gave Verstappen he advantage as he was using fresher tyres.

Hamilton was included in the New Year Honours list in 2020 after pressure on UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to approve the accolade.

Lewis Hamilton and his mother Carmen Lockhart pose for the media during a ceremony at Windsor Castle. AP
Lewis Hamilton and his mother Carmen Lockhart pose for the media during a ceremony at Windsor Castle. AP

Despite being one of the UK’s most successful sportsmen, Hamilton has previously been overlooked for a knighthood, reportedly due to his tax affairs.

His knighthood was included on the Diplomatic and Overseas List as he now lives in Monaco and has not resided permanently in the UK since 2007.

Former Labour cabinet minister Lord Hain twice wrote to No 10 Downing Street calling for the driver to be honoured with a CBE.

The past few years have been pivotal for Hamilton, who found his public voice and was praised when he spoke out over race issues, including the death of George Floyd.

The sole black driver in F1’s white-dominated world called out his peers for staying silent over Floyd’s murder by an American policeman in Minneapolis.

He then marched on the streets of London supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and praised protesters for tearing down the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - in pictures

Veteran British actor David Suchet was due to be knighted for his drama career and charity work but announced he had tested positive for Covid-19.

Barry Hearn, the chairman of the World Snooker Tour and the Professional Darts Corporation, was awarded an OBE for services to sport.

The former manager of six-time snooker world champion Steve Davis is also the chairman of Matchroom Sport, a company which owns, produces and promotes 12 sports.

Singer and rapper Craig David received an MBE for services to music after staging a career comeback.

The star found overnight fame with the release of his debut album Born To Do It in 2000 but the hits dried up and he moved to the US.

David returned to successful ways with his album Following My Intuition in 2016.

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Empire of Enchantment: The Story of Indian Magic

John Zubrzycki, Hurst Publishers

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F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

ICC men's cricketer of the year

2004 - Rahul Dravid (IND) ; 2005 - Jacques Kallis (SA) and Andrew Flintoff (ENG); 2006 - Ricky Ponting (AUS); 2007 - Ricky Ponting; 2008 - Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI); 2009 - Mitchell Johnson (AUS); 2010 - Sachin Tendulkar (IND); 2011 - Jonathan Trott (ENG); 2012 - Kumar Sangakkara (SL); 2013 - Michael Clarke (AUS); 2014 - Mitchell Johnson; 2015 - Steve Smith (AUS); 2016 - Ravichandran Ashwin (IND); 2017 - Virat Kohli (IND); 2018 - Virat Kohli; 2019 - Ben Stokes (ENG); 2021 - Shaheen Afridi

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Nepotism is the name of the game

Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad. 

The results of the first round are as follows:

Qais Saied (Independent): 18.4 per cent

Nabil Karoui (Qalb Tounes): 15.58 per cent

Abdelfattah Mourou (Ennahdha party): 12.88 per cent

Abdelkarim Zbidi (two-time defence minister backed by Nidaa Tounes party): 10.7 per cent

Youssef Chahed (former prime minister, leader of Long Live Tunisia): 7.3 per cent

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Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

Updated: December 15, 2021, 4:33 PM`