LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II has made a knight of the 100-year-old World War II veteran who captivated the British public by walking 100 laps of his garden and raising some 33 million pounds ($40 million) for the National Health Service.
The queen tapped the blade of a sword once owned by her father on the shoulders of Tom Moore on Friday to turn the hero of a nation into a knight of the realm.
Moore steadied himself against his now-famous walker and wheeled himself close enough to stand in front of Elizabeth but skipped the normal practice of taking a knee before the monarch.
National hero Captain Sir Tom Moore has been knighted by the Queen in recognition of his outstanding achievement raising almost £33 million for the NHS pic.twitter.com/xJYt1kV513
— PA Media (@PA) July 17, 2020
Before being knighted, CNN reports that Moore said, "If I kneel down, I'll never get up again."
He revealed afterward that he and the 94-year-old queen spoke about ages.
Today @captaintommoore’s incredible achievements are recognised with a Knighthood.
?The Queen awarded Captain Sir Tom Moore with his insignia of Knight Bachelor, after knighting him with the sword that belonged to her father, King George VI. pic.twitter.com/Tpri0hPS6m
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) July 17, 2020
