How British Knighthoods work

[@robrick9361]

David Bowie couldn't accept the Knighthood since it only applies to people born on earth.

[@a.r.9600]

Wasn’t he the guy who sold it?

[@jerrell1169]

@@a.r.9600 I guess Earth's lease is like Japan, you don't have to live on/in it to own and sell the property rights.

[@hydrogen3266]

John Smith he was born in London, it was a joke

[@xway2]

@John Smith You do seem like an authority on fun, so valid point.

[@jakubpociecha8819]

@@xway2 Bet it's a joke as well

[@inwalters]

J.J., the reason "the Queen's birthday" is not celebrated on her actual birthday can be traced back to Queen Victoria, whose birthday was June 20, so far 63 years this was celebrated as the Queen's birthday. When her son became King Edward VII in 1901, his birthday was November 9, when the weather is much more likely to be awful in the UK, so he suggested keeping the June 20 date as the monarch's "official" birthday, regardless on when it actually is so the ceremonies would be more likely to have good weather. So now it is celebrated on the second Saturday in June.

[@darealpoopster]

Pedro Figueira Well you’re wrong

[@TurtleMarcus]

The BBC reports that King George II, born in November, started this tradition by celebrating his birthday officially in the summer by combining it with a military parade, in 1748.

[@mr_weird6324]

It was actually king George the 2ed that made it the monarch birthday

[@CiabanItReal]

Why not just have the coronation happen on the 2nd Saturday in June. So when the current queen steps down, do so on her Birthday.

[@1joe60]

Queen Victoria's birthday was May 24 as is celebrated on the Canadian holiday of Victoria Day.

[@girlwithaguitar24]

*sees that you only have 1% female viewership* Me: We exist! There are literally dozens of us!

[@whuforever8088]

"Dozens" hahaha

[@sirbenjaminarthuriv4019]

Nice arrested development reference 😅

[@mittwochxiv.9770]

I was shocked to see that. Thought that looks were a selling point here ;).

[@Jennaros1ty]

Hello fellow 1%er😎

[@your_eaverydaycat9384]

@@Jennaros1ty Hello to my fellow female 1% xD

[@Marylandbrony]

I'm disappointed Canada is the first commonwealth nation to op out of the knighthood system. Because were never going to have a Sir JJ McCullough. But hopefully someday were going to have a Sir Jay Foreman.

[@JJMcCullough]

I hope they make him an exalted knight of the Dragon Quest or whatever the best thing is.

[@aidankerr1125]

Not to worry Commonwealth citizens can be fully knighted by the The Crown despite individual country’s own honours systems. Moreover, ‘honorary’ knighthood can be given to non-Commonwealth citizens. Some American examples of honour knights include Eisenhower and Reagan.

[@daanwillemsen223]

@@aidankerr1125 Is this one of the "The Commonwealth plus Ireland" protocols?

[@whatthe5607]

J.J. McCullough maybe make a new category, the knight of unfinished London, maybe?

[@aidankerr1125]

Daan Willemsen Hi Dan. No I think this is strictly Commonwealth Realms only. For example, Irishman Bob Geldof was made an honorary Knight in 1986.

[@Sock1294]

An OBE isn’t “order of the British empire” an OBE is an Officer of the British Empire( which is a rank in the Order of the British Empire). The confusion comes because there are many ranks in the Order of the British Empire and some of them are knighthoods like the KBE( Knight of the British Empire) or the KCBE (Knight Commander of the British Empire).

[@Scaro.s]

Was about to comment this. OBE is officer of the order of the BE, MBE is member of the order of the BE and CBE is Commander of the order of the british empire

[@hamishericson2050]

I was taught OBE was "Other persons Bloody Effort" and MBE was "My Bloody Effort"

[@CJonesApple]

There is no KCBE. It's just Commander. Are you thinking of the class above KBE which is GBE a much rarer honour. I think it's called Grand Knight of the British Empire.

[@raghavgupta2399]

What about MBE? What is the full form of MBE.

[@arwelparry7529]

Raghav Gupta That’s just a Member of the Order of the BE, the lowest level.

[@ejh4696]

Fun Fact: The youngest person ever to be knighted was future king George IV, who was aged three when he became a knight of the garter

[@cheekylix]

That's nice, so he may never remember...

[@reddykilowatt]

who was the oldest?

[@alexander9703]

@@reddykilowatt the Queen Knighted a hundred year old former British army Captain this year after he raised millions for the NHS and got a no.1 in the charts. He may not be the oldest, I dont know, but he's up there.

[@EpicnessYeet]

@@reddykilowatt not a sir, but the oldest dame, olivia de havilland. who just recently passed away (rip), was made a dame in 2017 at nearly 101 years old.

[@ashkitt7719]

"This is boring, I wanna play hopscotch." I imagine him thinking.

[@PotentialHistory]

Nice Spiffimg Birit cameo. That dude is everywhere. It was a bit odd to see him there not talking about tea or beaking the game of becoming Knighted.

[@leogazebo5290]

Wow didn't expect to see you here. Also hi.

[@abhinandandutta2079]

Can Heinrich German-Name be knighted if it turns out he was a britbong all along

[@HipposOnCrack]

Now this is a strange crossover

[@JJMcCullough]

It’s just a meme character, he didn’t make it up.

[@this_is_patrick]

It's the "Like a Sir" character from the long forgotten rage comics. It's been around since 2009.

[@billnyetehscienceguy]

Generally conservative news outlets will use the Sir (First Name) form whereas the left wing papers will show little deference. The BBC will always use the official style. Also Sir Alec Douglas-Home was a lord when he first became PM, and had to renounce the title as it prevented him from serving in the House of Commons. He was made a life peer when he retired as well, so he was a lord twice!

[@Edmonton-of2ec]

Yes, he had quite the jump around in titles. When he first entered Parliament in 1931, he entered as the “Lord Dunglass”, a courtesy title. When his father died he became His Grace, the 14th Earl of Home. Upon his disclaimation of peerage when he became Prime Minister, he became Sir Alec Douglas-Home, and upon leaving politics in 1974, he became a life peer, the Baron Home of Hirsel

[@hugo_xiv]

The Lib Dem politician John Thurso was also a Lord twice, once as a hereditary peer, which he then renounced to become an MP, then back in to the Lords as a Lib Dem peer a few years ago after losing his seat in 2015. He is also the only person i can remember with a noble title who i have interacted with in any capacity, as he was my local MP for a while

[@danep8553]

@@hugo_xiv Is that the one who is something like 5th Generation Liberal MP for the same area?

[@hugo_xiv]

@@danep8553 Caithness Sutherland and Easter Ross, been Lib Dem/Liberal for years, its a SNP/Lib Dem battleground now

[@danep8553]

@@hugo_xiv Ive been up there, doing the nc500, its a far way away. As for the politics, I am not keen on the radicals myself.

[@neilmaguinness6528]

In the U.K. I find some celebrities just end up being more associated with their knighthoods than others. I’d say the vast majority of those who are Sirs most people aren’t aware of their title, but there are a select few celebs for whom their title has become an entrenched part of their name in the publics minds. For example Dame Judi Dench, Sir Alex Ferguson and Lord Sugar (who was also regularly referred to as Sir Alan Sugar before being made a peer in the House of Lords). Another fun example is Sir Bob Geldof, who because of his Irish nationality is only a honounary Knight which does not technically make one a Sir, but the title has just stuck.

[@saw7191]

I never wanted to know about knighthood, but JJ has made me interested!

[@theishaanandankitashow]

JJ turns everything interesting!!

[@FelixFelixFelixFelixFelixFlx]

I like the Syldavian Pelican

[@saw7191]

Felix Beuker thanks

[@racsoleerf124]

Same

[@vozil7829]

You seem familiar

[@lts3248]

At my school in the UK, we always used to call male teachers "sir" when we already know which teacher was being talked about. Also, I have *met* a sir, but only in passing. When I went to a youth club however, about a year in one of the social workers running it became either an MBE or an OBE (I can't remember which). He was a genuinely good guy.

[@tomney4460]

Crazy how then, knights were people who protected the queen, now, they run airlines.

[@MirzaAhmed89]

Willie Walsh isn't a knight, yet.

[@tomney4460]

Mirza Ahmed I meant Richard Branson

[@DanielChristopherTS]

Richard Branson does more than just run an airline. He ran two of the countries most used mainlines and donated alot to the british public and charities.

[@tomney4460]

Daniel Christopher I know he also runs Virgin Galactic, the coolest company on earth besides SpaceX

[@PiousMoltar]

He also sold cola. That doesn't seem to exist any more. Fs in the comments for Virgin Cola. Once the third biggest brand of Cola in the UK after Coke and Pepsi. Hell I wouldn't be surprised if it was bigger than Pepsi at one point. Also RIP Sainsbury's Classic Cola. That was the best cola.

[@NiamhAllStar21]

The only time I’ll ever be in the 1% is in JJs demographics

[@honeycombfromheaven]

Me too. I was actually pretty surprised it's that crazy low

[@cutepuddleslime8201]

I know! I'm also the other 1% too lol

[@BenJones-zo5ln]

Haven’t met a knight but I did meet an hereditary lord in a pub once, and he was in the House of Lords so I’m counting it

[@mikeoxsmal8022]

Interesting

[@chadam917]

Imagine your professor, principal, or dean being a knight. "I did not get knighted by the Queen to be called mr. Smith, it's Sir John Smith"

[@lordsebastianofbarovia3686]

Well... whilst talking to a sir you would never use the surname, so it would be sir John

[@eelsemaj99]

KindaSmartPerson WhoLovesMinecraft on the first mention of them you usually use a surname, so you know who you’re talking about

[@MirzaAhmed89]

In most Commonwealth countries (at least in Bangladesh where I grew up, and the rest of South Asia), male teachers are addressed as Sir, and referred to by their first name followed by Sir.

[@Hackermonke]

Mirza Ahmed In my experience in Australia it’s usually Mr [Surname], then sir after. Though there are exceptions where the teacher has a nickname or they have asked us to call them something different.

[@micayahritchie7158]

@@MirzaAhmed89 I'm Jamaican we call them Mister [Surname], but sir whenever a name isn't being used (when we already know who we're talking about),

[@ilanablumsack1752]

Are those demographics real? If so, happy to be part of the 1%! 😅 -Loyal female viewer

[@JJMcCullough]

I was hoping my female viewer would comment

[@annie6068]

same

[@selfperformedsparagmos]

Damn, only 1% of us?

[@gerardacronin334]

I’m a dame and I’m waiting for the Dame video! 🤣

[@Liletter]

Don’t make me the one percent, I’m a leftist grrrrrrrrrr.

[@chelseym4881]

A member your 1% female audience, here! AND, a fellow Canadian. 🇨🇦 Have been watching your channel for about a year, and really enjoy your approach to politics, Canadian or otherwise (especially from the point of view of someone my own age). Thanks for all of the amazing content... Except for the one about milk bags. As an Ontarian, I can gaurentee you that milk in most commonly sold in bags here. 😁🇨🇦♥️ P.S. I finally traveled to BC last year... I love how everyone charmingly refers to Ontario as Onterrible....! I have to say, that's all I could think about when I stepped off the plane back in Hamilton and could smell the pollution... yeah... eww... Hope to return to BC again. 😁

[@controversialverdict]

For some local context - there is a fairly strong correlation between the publication and the term of address. As a very basic guide: The Telegraph and The Times are more serious, pro-establishment publications, and I would expect them to use the traditional address. The Sun and The Mirror are - while (broadly speaking) of opposing political ideologies - less high-brow and generally not likely to get too invested an making a statement on an issue like this, and would most likely use the traditional address simply to avoid confronting the issue. The Daily Mail (and presumably The Daily Express) cater to those who consider themselves higher-brow than Sun and Mirror readers, but without much actual difference in tastes. They provide a staunchly right-wing and pro-establishment outlook and I would be shocked if they used anything other than the most obsequious form of address. The Guardian and The Independent typically provide a more serious and more progressive outlook, with The Guardian generally being considered the most left-leaning of the major broadsheets. It does not surprise me that these were to only two publications to use surnames, as I believe they would consider it a matter of some (perhaps slight) egalitarian principle.

[@JJMcCullough]

Fascinating! What about the BBC!

[@stevewood8914]

@@JJMcCullough The BBC being a state broadcaster, under royal charter, is always deferential to the state, its traditions and its institutions.

[@_v_r_tt]

@@JJMcCullough the BBC are very much the TV news of the establishment, although its worth saying all TV and radio news in the UK needs to be neutral and provided 'balanced reporting' , so they would use whatever the proper title is, to deliver there aim as serious, reliable and factual reporting However I have noticed that channel 4 news, that is also publicly owned (anthough self-funded), is much more fluid with the use of proper titles changing to fit the tone. This most likely has to do with there more left wing perspective so they use more where they see fit as they are likely to not see if as so important and unlike the BBC won't be inundated with complaints if they don't.

[@gideonbernstein9687]

@@bigscarysteve where do you live at the moment?

[@ryaningham5374]

@@bigscarysteve if you're staunchly right wing, probably the Daily Mail. Although bear in mind they have a pretty terrible reputation in the UK.

[@lordwaffle4614]

As a person from the u.k. I have no problem with knighthoods, it’s just a traditional way of honouring someone’s service and doesn’t really effect everyday life, so why get rid of it? The only knight I have ever being “connected” to was the first headmaster of my old secondary school, he was made a knight for his services for education and he now has a plaque which details his name including the Sir, but he never showed up so no one really knows what to address him, most likely by Sir (as a knight) or sir (as a teacher).

[@MrStephen182]

I say it's become cheep and meaningless. Acting legend John Cleese called them silly and I agree with that. Seems like there are just there so when people like me asks what does the Queen do the ruling elite can say "she gives out knighthoods"

[@rivenoak]

@@MrStephen182 you are offered knighthood also upon being nobel laureate or likewise achievements. Peter Higgs (the guy with the famous boson) declined, but Sir Andrew Wiles accepted knighthood for solving Fermat's theorem. other example: Sir Edmund Hillary was knighted for climbing Mt. Everest, so no brown nosing required for the Sir. :D on a side note: François Englert (the scientist proving Higgs Boson) was elevated to Baron in belgian peerage upon the same nobel laureate and both belgian astronauts returning from space became _vicomtes_ (viscount in uk peerage system)

[@alexpotts6520]

@@rivenoak Funnily enough the Nobel Prize is a more controversial award than it used to be. The peace prize in particular has had a pretty garbage record in recent years, it's almost cursed how recipients like Ann Sang Su Kyi and the President of Ethiopia (whose name escapes me) screw everything up shortly after receiving it.

[@guppy719]

@@alexpotts6520 Meh neither of those are as bad as Obama's. Both of them were actually awarded for something. They just then did something different that went against the prize

[@stuntmonkey00]

"Sir Harry Prince"

[@FreedomLovingLoyalist]

no

[@eelsemaj99]

Alexander Olivarez-Sáenz He forfeited his HRH in march, So he’s now just Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex KCVO

[@PiousMoltar]

@@eelsemaj99 How can you forfeit your royal highness label and still be a prince? He's just Harry.

[@professorpodcast3029]

@@PiousMoltar "Sir Harry Windsor"

[@LordDim1]

PiousMoltar He hasn’t forfeit the HRH, he simply does not use it, but has not renounced it. Also, one can renounce/be stripped of HRH, but that does not impact you being a Prince. HRH and Prince are two separate things. Princess Märtha Louise of Norway renounced her HRH in the early 2000s, but i still a Princess. 3 of the King of Sweden’s grandchildren were stripped of their HRH last year, but they’re still princes/princesses

[@Bryzerse]

I think the whole debate is a bit silly. It literally means nothing, it's just a symbol of gratitude, and is no more corrupt than any other award or medal.

[@ludogibson7067]

My late grandfather was “ Sir Alexander Gibson” I never met him however he was always referred to by friends as just “Alex”. I also met a survivor from Bergen Belsen concentration camp called “Sir Paul Oppenheimer” which was very interesting

[@the4tierbridge]

Did he die in 1995?

[@ludogibson7067]

@@the4tierbridge yes

[@the4tierbridge]

@@ludogibson7067 oh! He was that composer guy, right?

[@ludogibson7067]

@@the4tierbridge indeed

[@the4tierbridge]

@@ludogibson7067 cool! My dad had a photo of him at a concert that he conducted when he was younger.

[@andythebelkin]

I'm in the Royal Air Force and I once met with the Head of the Air force (Sir Andrew Pulford). It's pretty customary for heads of the branches of the military to be awarded a knighthood so he was still a pretty normal guy, polite, down to earth. Most brits see people who are Sirs as people who've achieved highly and people who have earned a great deal of respect. In reference to Sir Keir, yes the Labour party try to play his knighthood down, but most people in the UK don't actually want to vote for "the everyman". People in the UK want to vote for someone who seems well educated and professional, hence why the majority of our PM's all speak with a 'posh' accent and tend to be educated at one of the countries more highly esteemed universities.

[@BronzeManul]

The Guardian and The Independent are easily the most 'liberal'/progressive papers so I wouldn't be surprised if their standards take the stance of the 'Sir John' usage as being archaic.

[@shournharber70]

The guardian is definitely left wing, not liberal

[@michaelheeheejackson7255]

Shourn Harber did you ever pay attention to their coverage of Corbyn?

[@finnersmcspeed5646]

Sorry but Independent is firmly centrist but with wide views of either side of the political spectrum.

[@BronzeManul]

@@shournharber70 Note 'liberal' not liberal.

[@BronzeManul]

@@finnersmcspeed5646 If you look at their coverage anytime this decade it's pretty clear that whatever Centrist/right-wing side may have existed in the past has disappeared since.

[@NTeach10]

My grandfather was offered a Knighthood but it came 'attached' with a job he didn't want, so he refused. He was a CBE though.

[@reginatang9310]

That sound very interesting, what was that job?

[@NTeach10]

@@reginatang9310 I think it was chairmanship of British Rail.

[@harshbansal7982]

NTech10 he didn’t want to be a chairman of the British Railways ?

[@reginatang9310]

@@NTeach10 Sorry if this is a bit nosy. Why didn't he want to be the chairman of British Rail? It sounds like a pretty good position.

[@NTeach10]

Regina Tang He wasn’t really interested in the job and British Rail wasn’t in the best of health

[@DouglasEdward84]

Sorry for the nitpicking J.J. but Alec Douglas-Home, the "Home" was pronounced more like "Hume" than "Home"....I have no idea why. My Dad worked under a "Sir" at Lloyd's bank back in the early 70s, said he was exactly what you would expect of an upper class English person, eccentric and aloof and a little snobby but reasonably intelligent and not an asshole to the employees generally, though he related a hilarious question he asked my Dad about what kind of "stock" he thought one of the secretaries came from.

[@johnburk6564]

DouglasEdward84 - I would describe the pronunciation this way: HYOOM. that is, like “Hugh+M.”

[@georgeadams1853]

I remember when he was Foreign Secretary, and the US broadcast media always pronounced his name as "Hume", and that's how I thought it was spelled until I happened across it in print. That was my first encounter with odd pronunciations of family and place names in England.

[@dairallan]

@@georgeadams1853 in this case Scotland

[@anitabhattacharya6735]

Yeah... He was actually the Earl of 'Hugh-m'. But he gave up his title to sit in the Commons but was again given a peerage so that he could sit in the Lords.

[@DouglasEdward84]

@@johnburk6564 Yeah that might be a more accurate description, it's still quite odd for other English speakers to hear it.

[@h1ccup2000]

Quick correction: OBE stands for Officer of the Order of the British Empire rather than simply Order of the British Empire. It is a rank in that order. This starts with member (MBE) then goes up to Officer (OBE) then Commander (CBE) then (KBE) which is a knighthood to the Order of the British Empire.

[@kaylenburns5180]

ah yes, JJ once again has different hair

[@JJMcCullough]

@@bigscarysteve Once again you're confusing me with Markiplier

[@PiousMoltar]

I miss when he had green dreadlocks and a long purple beard

[@lordpiggington5259]

The reason the queen has two birthdays is because she aged really badly and she’s actually 47 but because she has two birthdays a year legally she’s 94 plus it helps her get the world record of oldest monarch ever and longest serving monarch ever but that’s British propaganda

[@heatherswanson1664]

Every time someone sings God Save The Queen she adds an extra day to her life which is why she’s so damn old and still kicking it

[@herderofsheep1166]

If any ones curious the reason the queen has 2 birthdays its because the weathers nicer in june then her actual birthday in april

[@acasualcactus5878]

And they do outdoor events for the Sovereign’s birthday.

[@Ayy_Doll_Fiddler]

Ahhh, so the Queen's an Aries? Noice

[@conorcooper3541]

I have met and performed with Sir Paul McCartney. He is a very genuine person.

[@georgelloydgonzalez]

Performed?? Where and when?

[@ishouldhavetried]

I got a video about "Sir David Attenborough" earlier, and my first thought was "Why are so many people named "Sir""? And then this video comes out. Talk about coincidence!

[@LookBackHistory]

I generally don't agree with the Labour Party on much, but the woman you quoted hit the nail on the head. The honours system should be used to reward genuine public service; I don't think you'll find too many Brits who can disagree with that. A PM's press secretary, for example, definitely doesn't fall within that category. Oh, and I've never met a Sir :(

[@whitenova754]

Have you seen the U.S.? We probably have over 300k honorables at any given time lmao

[@dezodroya]

3:14 jesus i didnt know this was such a sausage party

[@pre-debutera6941]

It's insane. I thought it would be like 20% or so.

[@ocost3000]

I really don't understand why. There's nothing inherently masculine about JJ's content, other than JJ himself. It makes sense a guy would have more guy viewers but 99%? I wonder if KZbin's algorithm correlates males and political/international topics.

[@HavvaNagila]

@@ocost3000 politics

[@pre-debutera6941]

@@ocost3000 Nerdy stuff is viewed as being masculine.

[@BallHeadFreak]

@@ocost3000 Even if you don't think it is inherently masculine, the mega corp. with literally billions of dollars invested in this company, servers and bots sure knows better than a single person or even a large amount of people. Do some women care about history and world culture? Sure, but the majority doesn't. The majority watches makeup tutorials, TikTok compilations and celebrity gossip.

[@patrickduggan5900]

I had a Lord visit my school once and generally the reaction could be fitted into two camps which I think represents British public opinion quite well - keep in mind this was two-ish years ago. The minority (being the school higher ups, some parents, and a handful of especially conservative students) were generally quite excited about the whole thing. Not so much because they saw the title as conferring any importance itself so much as they considered 'Lord' to be a symbol of the old British establishment - something quite comforting and nostalgic. This by consequence (in the eyes of the headmaster for instance) would've conferred bragging rights on the school to some extent and they didn't shut up about it (and a visit by a Bishop and Lord Mayor...similar story for both). The majority of people however were fairly indifferent if not fairly hostile to the whole thing. This shouldn't be conflated with Republicanism, but most Brits now seem to have a natural dislike of authority, especially when it seems arbitrarily conferred or inherited (and when the person who holds the title is quite unimpressive). It was generally the butt of quite a few jokes - the school being pretty traditional anyway, the 'schoolmasters' showed up, we all had to stand when the Lord came in, he spoke quite funny etc - although much of this excess stemmed from it being a private school (and a selling point is this adherence to outdated and frankly silly tradition) the school's tradition and shows of reverence for British aristocracy are two sides of the same coin. I'd say most of us students would have been perfectly happy with the monarchy, particularly the current Queen, and if there were republicans most would probably say they think she's done a pretty good job for our image especially abroad. This, I'd say, stems from her well liked anyway as a peoples-queen, but also her being the 'one' royal so to speak who's popularity prohibits a gross growth in the other minor nobles who are generally unpopular. It's worth looking at Charles who, it's generally understood, wants to cut back the royal family to it's core members when he becomes King - and this seems to be in line with public opinion.

[@JJMcCullough]

I would like to do a video on the queen someday but I’m not quite sure how to strike the right tone. I’ve always thought the best way to understand her is just as kind of a living sentimental object whose success at the job, such as it is, has been obtained largely by playing to the kind of low key conservative nostalgia you described.

[@patrickduggan5900]

@@JJMcCullough I'd completely agree. In terms of a conservative nostalgia it's quite politically transcendent - that is to say you could have working class people on one side and the very wealthy on the other who might ordinarily be politically opposed, but can agree on the queen as a symbol of national unity (this is a generalisation but still holds true!). It obviously differs from country to country - Canada I wouldn't be so sure (that's your area of expertise!) but Australia for instance there's always been a fairly strong Labour/Socialist movement basically since the Victorian Era. They were traditionally less friendly to this idea of monarchy and viewed it more as an uncomfortable imposition from the old country on what ought to be a new and freer place free from the constraints of the old world. In that sense it's rather like the American view might be about the old days of Monarchy. Albeit now the Australian consensus seems to be more pro-monarchy, as a source of particularly Anglo-Irish roots in an ever more diverse society.

[@TygerTyger24]

@@JJMcCullough You had to do one now :O

[@noahlindgren1014]

JJ has the hair that I’ve been trying to grow for six years

[@caxzrockz]

Same

[@jerrell1169]

That peak Kenny Loggins hair, now all he needs is the beard.

[@BagMonster]

I love how dead inside he sounded when he said "to ensure the picks are all... diverse and inclusive."

[@ashkitt7719]

And in practice it's not that.

[@andrewaslakson5220]

This is (sir)tainly JJ’s best video

[@nintendofan1749]

Ba dum tiss

[@aw7544]

I'm from Glasgow (just thought I'd mention it in case anyone thought I was a Tourist). Me and my family were on a visit to Kelburn Castle Country Park when we saw a elderly man approaching us in a suit. We conversation with and he said he was going to gift shop for some bug spray. When we finished our conversation we went into the gift shop the cashier informed us that we had just had conversation with the Earl of Glasgow. You would never had thought it as he was so down to earth and humble, I'd have that he would speak down to us but he never and was very nice

[@jacquesy2520]

Huh, I didn't notice the differences the media have in referring to knighted people. The more you know.

[@Edmonton-of2ec]

Oh it’s politics. The more conservative newspaper will use the full title, out of respect for tradition. The moderate papers will generally use a simplified form or something shorter to avoid kicking up a fuss, while the left-wing papers will often abstain from using titles, despite the fact that that is not correct, but muh egalitarianism

[@jacquesy2520]

@@Edmonton-of2ec of course. What isn't culture war material these days?

[@tdb7992]

Here in Australia, and about ten years ago, when Tony Abbott became PM one of the first things he did was bring back Australian knighthoods. He gave two out, one to Prince Phillip (the Queen's husband, for all you Americans, and certainly a man with enough titles already) and someone else I cannot remember, probably a cricket player. Abbott hadn't mentioned this plan in the lead up to the election so it really took everyone by surprise. There was quite a public outcry because it was seen as being a bit outdated in modern Australia. Even though most Australians are fiercely proud of our British heritage, we already have the Order of Australia award it just seemed strange to bring knighthoods back. Anyway, Tony Abbott has just been appointed to a new British trade delegation aimed at signing free trade agreements post Brexit. From recent reports, it appears the Australian and UK FTA will allow for free movement between Australia and the UK, so it's like a mini-CANZUK. I'm not sure if NZ is involved, we already have the Trans-Tasman agreement with them, but they don't seem too interested in free movement with the UK. I did hear that your new Canadian opposition leader is in favour of it.

[@ms94]

I remember that too! It was that very controversy over the Prince Phillip knighthood amongst other things that almost cost him the prime ministership in February 2015 and set the stage for his eventual loss to Malcolm Turnbull in the leadership spill of September that same year. Also typical to see Tony Abbott get appointed to that kind of position given his fondness of the UK establishment.

[@tdb7992]

@@ms94 good memory you've got there mate! There were so many PM rolls at that time they've all blurred into one in my mind. Abbott was all about the Monarchy. I didn't like him at the time, but I feel like perhaps I like him even less than ScoMo.

[@Sikosm]

Ummm how old are you... "Most Australians fiercely proud of British heritage"?? As someone who has English ancestry, Australia is multicultural and most don't really care about Britain one way or the other...

[@kyv979]

@@Sikosm Canadian here. I'd say that a fair majority of people here are progressives and therefore don't like the idea of connections to "archaic" Britain, but it's nice to have a connection to another nation that's a bit friendlier (I don't hate america as a nation, but the people are just a bit... yknow...) Besides, the Governor General is the intermediary between both Canada and Britain, so it's nice to have some sort of connection rather than being isolated from other nations.

[@RejectedRecords1998]

@@kyv979 As an American I always find this hilarious. Canadian's are some of the most stuck-up holier than thou people that have ever lived and its all because you're directly connected to a bigger, more powerful country that makes you all insecure about your place in the world. But yeah, the 330-million+ people that live in the US are '...y'know' LOL

[@JJLiu-xc3kg]

Does JJ even have hair or is it just a modifiable wig

[@LejunglerenardThejunglefox]

I called my Drill Instructor in the Marine Corps Sir. Did he get knighted?

[@sollamander2206]

I don't know any sirs, but two of my dad's close friends, one from boarding school and one from work (the school partially inspired Hogwarts, in particular the Hogwarts Express) are barons, the Baron Mowbray, Seagrave and Stourton and Baron St Levan. I went to one of their houses while we were on vacation in England when I was like six years old, mostly remember they had a separate snack pantry and how cool that was. They both basically have to dedicate their lives to keeping up their unwieldy old-timey estates, one of which is on a mountain on an island. Prince William and Princess Kate (before she was princess) were at my dad's goddaughters wedding which was pretty insane. My parents met while working at the New York office of a British bank with a lot of nobility as employees, and from my mom's american perspective, there guys who leaned into the stereotype and were incredibly elitist but the ones my parents were friends with felt like their titles and everything that came with were almost like golden albatrosses around their necks because of all the societal expectations and family drama it brought. Edit: My parents never refer to them by anything but their first names, but my grandmother worked for Lord Mountbatten when she was a Wren during World War 2 and (not like they were friends) everyone in my family referred to him as Lord Mountbatten. Edit 2: My dad's old boss that he's friendly with was knighted a few years back so he's a sir but my dad just calls him Simon.

[@Jmeg1706]

An ex-headteacher of my secondary school was a ‘Sir’. He was just a normal lad from Kirkby, no pomp or circumstance about him. Also delivered a very good speech at my schools yearly awards evening

[@SeanMacadelic]

The way he said Knights Bachelor is like when your parents talk about your sibling who is a cowboy astronaut millionaire and you’re just a measly doctor 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@B1_66ER]

Great video, I learned a lot. I'm British and I've never to my knowledge met a Sir/Dame or a Lord but then again I do live up north (far less posh). Apart from rare cases the UK doesn't explicitly punish public figures who cock up (like taking back knighthoods). They just "resign/don't have their contract renewed/retire" (read shunted) out of positions where they can cease being an embarrassment.

[@jonathanbennet2580]

I don't think I binge watch anyone as much as JJ

[@WilliamChan]

I truly admire how you show interest in political/cultural traditions and explain them in an engaging way, without affording them undue reverence.

[@SamAronow]

Most countries have something like this. The US equivalent is the Medal of Freedom. It just doesn’t come with an honorific.

[@SamAronow]

On a related note, I have dealt directly with the Israeli equivalent, a recipient of the Israel Prize (in this case a former Supreme Court justice).

[@tomuhawk96]

It's probably for the best, would you want Trump to wave a sword near your head?

[@SamAronow]

Cody and William Murphy No they aren’t. There was a proposed amendment to the constitution that would have done so, but it was never adopted. Nor is knighthood a title of nobility.

[@SamAronow]

@codymurphy3493But even knighthood isn’t a title of nobility. It is neither hereditary nor posthumous, and they are considered “gentry” (the highest class of commoner).

[@Edmonton-of2ec]

For anyone wondering, a person with a higher title who receives a knighthood will never in the proper context be referred to as Sir or Lady X. They will instead be referred to as His/Her Grace, the Duke/Duchess of X (spouses use the equivalent title of their noble spouse) if they have a Duke, The Most Honourable, the Marquess/Marchioness (the female equivalent) of X, and all other peerages (Baron/Baroness, Viscounts, Viscountess and Earl, Countess) use the style The Right Honourable, the (title) of X. Baronets, most of which are hereditary are not technically peerages so use the style Sir or Lady, the same as anyone who has been Knighted. The Royal Titles, the peerages held by members of the Royal Family use the HRH title (His or Her Royal Highness), not the dignity attached to their title. The style The Honourable, The Most Honourable, and The Right Honourable are generally above that of Sir, and are used as such. The sovereign goes by the style “Your Majesty” or His/Her Majesty, the Queen/King of X (do remember the Commonwealth Crowns are personal unions, distinct monarchies all embodied in the same person). Children of such generally use a courtesy or subsidiary title, a lesser title held by their parents, if applicable, and follow the previous conventions. Counts are not a recognized title in the UK, as earl is the equivalent title, but their wife’s and females holding the title in their right are referred to as Countesses. The ONLY time you refer to anyone with a higher title as Sir or Ma’am is when you are in conversation with them, after you have greeted them with the appropriate title.

[@davidjames4915]

How does a knighthood interact with doctorates? Both 'Sir' and 'Dr.' replace 'Mr'. My guess is it would be Dr. Sir John Smith but I'm not actually sure. Also, for the children of a peer who aren't to succeed, there is no subsidiary title, so they are just Lord/Lady (e.g. Lady Diana Spencer).

[@Edmonton-of2ec]

David James Not true for that last bit. Many children of peers use subsidiary titles of their parents. The eldest son of the Duke of Northumberland is the Earl Percy, a subsidiary title of his fathers. The son of the Duke of Wellington is the Earl of Mornington. He is entitled to a higher subsidiary title, the Marquess of Douro, but does not use it. As for the Doctor bit, I would imagine Dr. would be used professionally and maybe personally, but for anything official the title would probably be Sir.

[@davidjames4915]

@@Edmonton-of2ec But those are children who ARE to succeed, I was commenting about those who AREN'T to succeed to the main title, like the second and third sons and any daughters. I don't believe it's the case that second or further sons have any call on any further subsidiary titles that their father may possess.

[@Edmonton-of2ec]

David James No, that usually isn’t the case. I was simply referring to the heir apparents of the Dukedoms and various other titles. The eldest is usually given a subsidiary to differentiate them from their siblings

[@davidjames4915]

@@Edmonton-of2ec Right, but in your long initial write-up, you never covered the honorifics assigned to second sons and daughters of peers, which is what I added.

[@ms-vq1os]

Fun fact: f1 worldchampion Lewis Hamilton is known to hope for a knighthood, as the ultimate award of his career in motorracing.

[@lawriebeckett7805]

Hi JJ, my great-grandfather was knighted, he was the CEO/chairman of a large company, he was knighted when it was a less political/celebrity orientated system. I never met him but I always thought that it was pretty cool to be related to him.

[@MrGameManIsCool]

Yea I’ve never interacted with a sir , although we call all our male teachers sir , because it’s easier than saying mister

[@MrGameManIsCool]

@@bigscarysteve huh, here in primary school we usually use mister[their last name] or misses[their last name] but then in secondary school we just say sir or miss

[@AttacMage]

@@bigscarysteve depends on the place. I've called most my teachers Mr. / Mrs. X, so it surprised me sometimes when people just drop it. Kinda a thing that's affected the majority of my age group, I think. Not sure about those 5-15 years older.

[@deutschelehrer69]

In my country we still call our male teacher sir/mister and female teacher mam/miss

[@Linkan1998]

As a swede i always finds it wierd that in most countries you call your teacher with titles. In Sweden we call teachers by their first name like if a teacher was called Jonas Berglund we would call him Jonas when speaking to him. Same when the teacher is a woman, if her name is Sara Johansson we would call her Sara

[@MrGameManIsCool]

linus lindmark woah that’s wild , here if you call a teacher by the first name , unless like you have that kinda jokey relationship with them , it’s seen as really rude

[@SandyRiverBlue]

What I found the most interesting when I took a British politics course at University, is how the House of Lords works. I thought it was just a legislative house of hereditary peers that passed laws that they then foisted on the common folks, and apparently, that was what it was like for many years. The modern House of Lords now works more like a specialized legislative house. Since the people most likely to be knighted are people who have excelled in their fields, for the most part, the people sitting on science committees are scientists and people who sit on international policy committees are former ambassadors and other relevant folks in the area of interest. That said there are still hereditary peers assigned to the House of Lords and, god help us all, high ranking clergy, but for the most part, it is an interesting exercise in assigning the right people to the right job that is, in innumerable ways, better than having two entire houses that are chock full of lawyers.

[@Bosschoice95]

“I know what side my bread is buttered on” is the most Canadian thing I’ve heard all day.

[@thunderbolt1964]

My grandpa was a knight and it was something that he never really talked about but was always quite proud of it. it’s nice to pick up your mail and see sir… Written on it because it’s an expression of thanks from the monarch the government and the people for any service you may have performed no matter how publicly known it was.

[@ojaco2709]

I work in the private medical insurance industry, and one of the regular members I speak to is a Sir. We mostly talked about his wife whose title, I assume from him, was lady and that's how we addressed them. I feel it would be very rude not too. They earnt it one way or any other

[@JJMcCullough]

Oh I forgot to mention about the wives being ladies

[@himagainstill]

@@JJMcCullough This is one of the inequalities left in the system. The wife of a knight gets to call herself Lady, but the husmand of a Dame doesn't get anything equivalent.

[@theodorewitt]

Love all the artwork you did for this one..!

[@harrymorgan9358]

I have met a few Sirs, of whom, none of them were particularly famous and mostly academic. People just called them by their first name and the knighthood wasn't brought up. In my experience, unless you knew them well, you wouldn't know most people had a knighthood

[@Mason-ze6ri]

Hey J.J, thanks for your great videos! I like the story that King James I of England knighted a beef's Loin which was presumably fantastic and turned it into a Sirloin :)

[@owentaylor5622]

can we get a jay foreman and jj collab sometime?

[@FiendishStormForce]

I remember being introduced to my Dad's boss, Sir Michael Bichard, the civil servant in charge of the Department of Education. I was disappointed to find out subsequently that he insisted on being called 'Mike' in person and claimed to dislike his title. Given that he not only accepted the knighthood but later accepted a peerage to become Baron Bichard, I think he may be part of a significant subcategory of people who accept every honour they can while professing to despise the honours system. One thing I noticed wasn't touched on in the video - baronetcies, the hereditary knighthoods! Obviously they're very different from normal knighthoods, but they do come with 'sir' as a title.

[@oliver8296]

I was going to point out the thing about the sons of hereditary peers getting automatic "sir". Don't so much mind the people who accept but don't use it. Ultimately accepting an honour comes with tangible benefits that you may not want to decline. My main complaint is that those who are deserving are diluted by unworthy (certain career civil servants, hereditary, royals and their sycophants etc). There should be a clear division, possibly different titles depending on the reason for the award

[@indefatigable8193]

"Werewolf Bar Mitzvah, spooky, scary Boys becoming men - men becoming wolves”

[@vernontk]

Thank you for always releasing videos on the weekend for me to watch as I fold laundry.

[@noaht8592]

That demographic is certainly strange, even male centred channels still have a 5-95% split

[@himagainstill]

6:45 This moment with the sword is called the "accolade", from the French. Modern use of the word comes from it being a metonym for the granting of an honour.

[@LeonWezi]

The vice chancellor of my small university was a knight. He was a very friendly chap and accomplished historian (the official Downing Street historian I believe). He would often invite us to “fire-side chats” with other accomplished academics. He does go by Sir, but would never be offended if you didn’t address him by his “proper title”. As far as my opinions on the honours system go, I would say I’m broadly in favour of keeping it. I feel very much the same toward it as I do the monarchy as a whole; I certainly wouldn’t create a country along such historically elitist traditions, but the reality of modern day Britain is that these anachronisms are largely harmless. Also, I feel that, as the lady journalist you mentioned said, they do often go to very deserving people and I think a country should have a way of rewarding those people. Lastly, Britain is a very traditional country in many ways with a very long history and even I, as a self avowed left-winger/progressive, accepts this with a degree of understanding and appreciation. After all, our quirky and sometimes near farcical traditions are what make us that bit different (or maybe ever so slightly special) from the rest of the world.

[@JJMcCullough]

It’s true. I’ve noticed a lot of people in the comments asking “what is [country X’s] version” of this. And the answer is there isn’t one. This is just an example of something uniquely British.

[@davidjames4915]

It also has a way of drawing attention towards the works or deeds of the recipient on an ongoing basis that other honours without a dedicated honorific or title don't so readily accomplish. When someone receives Canada's own Order of Canada there's a one-time bump in recognition, and that's sort of it. There's more practical recognition out of a doctorate - even an honorary one - than there is from an Order of Canada, which really doesn't make a lot of sense.

[@professordogwood8985]

@@JJMcCullough What about Kentucky Colonels?

[@mrsporty9669]

Interesting. Always something to learn from JJ in a easy way. Thanks

[@Cheekywill]

Fun fact: The 3rd biggest British political party, the liberal democrats have recently elected a sir as their leader. Sir ed Davey.

[@davidjames4915]

Boris is going to have to up his game and get some to recommend him for a knighthood on account of his service as mayor of London.

[@CJonesApple]

Sir Ming Campbell was this century at least too

[@RejectedRecords1998]

Being 3rd in the UK isn't worth a ton these days, unfortunately.

[@chrisstra84]

I really appreciate your effort that you put into your videos. I always learn something.

[@TexasVagabond]

The easiest way to become a Sir is to move to the American South.

[@TexasVagabond]

Drake Did you grow up in a city?

[@TheBucketSkill]

definitely dont be black tho, you'l be the opposite of sir.

[@joshhyyym]

A professor at my university was knighted a few years ago. I didn't have any classes with him, but I did see him around and communicated by email with him. Interestingly, as the title 'Sir' is considered part of the first name his full title was Prof Sir. Which I found rather interesting.

[@k-techpl7222]

"Sir" sounds like "Ser" which means "Cheese" in Polish

[@legoman9678]

Cheese prince harry

[@rickdeckard346]

Ser is actually how you spell the knighthood title in ASOIAF/Game of Thrones

[@legoman9678]

Politics of cheeses

[@dragansubotic1274]

Sir is cheese in Serbian

[@legoman9678]

Turning men into cheeses

[@JohnSwinton123]

My current university vice chancellor, Sir Anton Muscatelli, has been knighted I think for his services to prolonging and improving the education in Scotland. This is such a good video JJ I’m glad you’ve Delved into this archaic British system of patronage!

[@alexh2947]

I believe my MP is a sir, being sir David Amess. Lovely man, visits our school often and despite it being majority left leaning all of the politically involved students don't mind that he's Conservative. The school and Amess get along really well.

[@Medeasbiggestfan]

I used to send the invitations out for a Christmas event to about 4000 members of the great and the good. We had to check for anyone with the title ‘Sir’ and chance the mail-merge function to [title] [first name], not [title] [last name].

[@ishouldhavetried]

It's me. I'm that 1% female audience.

[@lawrencian]

me too

[@andrewsmith8073]

Order of the British Empire is what recipients of OBE's and other awards (CBE's, MBE's etc) are accepted into with OBE standing for Officer of the Order of the British Empire, CBE=Commander... and MBE=Member

[@user-ww9mz7qd9t]

I would love a video about Dames :)

[@user-ww9mz7qd9t]

also as a Brit, no I have never met a Sir - I generally associate Knighthoods with older British celebs honestly. I have met several Lords though

[@canadaehxplained77]

In one of my previous work lives - I attended an Arctic conference in Reykjavik every year, and became a somewhat regular face at the thing. The UK's delegation was always huge - and was almost always led by a 'Sir' or a 'Lord' that didn't actually have any more power within the British government than would a backbench MPP in Ontario... It never really made sense - but they always played diplomat well! (Then again, you could say that I too was just playing diplomat at that point).

[@stoutyyyy]

Diplomats (and most other important govt jobs) from every country tend to be well-educated posh people, knighthood usually pulls from the same pool

[@Tobberz]

First (maybe a whole other video for this), of interest is how other Commonwealth Realms consider knighthoods and so-called "Imperial Honours" (i.e: British Honours). Countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Barbados, (amongst a fair few others) came up with their own national knighthoods after breaking away from the British system - unlike Canada, which ditched the title altogether. Australia ditched it in 1986, before re-introducing Sir for a year in 2014, then promptly ditching it again. Despite these new local honours, a notably large number of Commonwealth Realms continue to formally recognise Imperial (i.e: British) honours - but this varies a lot from country to country. I believe New Zealand does, Australia doesn't, Canada does in some cases. It's an altogether complex situation which one could talk for hours about. Certainly Australia (as is often the case), is on the extreme end of things - considering all British honours to be utterly "foreign", as it would an American honour. But most Commonwealth Realms take a more gentle approach to this. There's only one Chivalric Order in the Commonwealth that is still truly "Imperial" - the Royal Victorian Order is appointed by the Queen in her position as Queen in Right of *all* the 16 nations, so features in all 16 countries' Orders of Precedence. Personally I see no issue with the title - many countries have similar honours.

[@bengiblin3095]

I have often worked with the conductors sir John Eliot Gardiner and Sir Simon Rattle who are both prominent figures in classical music. When referring to them in conversation to other people I say “sir John Eliot Gardiner” but I also say “Simon Rattle” and when talking to them people would call them John and Simon respectively. They’re quite nice and are very interesting to have conversations with. They’re also role models to me as an aspiring conductor.

[@painbow6528]

Being a 'Sir' is something achieved through work so has a certain credibility to it (compared to Barons, Dukes, Earls etc who generally inherit their titles). But those who refuse definitely undermine them.

[@theoblack6810]

My old scout leader wasn’t a sir but he had an OBE. It didn’t change anything, he’s still a real nice, humble guy.

[@interstatehighwayfan_645]

Imagine if Patrick Stewart lived in the middle ages he would be the The best knight ever

[@davidterry3288]

He did in the Movie Excalibur.

[@rory4605]

Loved the Jay Foreman shout out! His channel is fantastic, very informative, very funny.

[@jfarrow3856]

In my experience how often you come across a knight varies a lot regionally and I think this is a common reason for the perception of elitism. In my relatively working class community in northern England, you would occasionally come across someone with MBE after their name (this is member of the British Empire, the lowest rank of the Order of the British Empire and three ranks below a knight) and it was always something very impressive - usually given to people who have done a lot of charity and community work and always very respected for that reason. The Chair of the board of governors for my Sixth Form (last two years of high school for Americans) was an MBE for example. It’s definitely more common in the south east though (obviously the power base and wealthy area of the country) and as I go to a prestigious university a lot of the ceremonial officers with connections to the national power bases are knights.

[@JJMcCullough]

How do you know when someone is an MBE?

[@jfarrow3856]

J.J. McCullough ‘MBE’ comes after their name as a postnomial (John Smith MBE) but it’s only ever used in a very formal context, but you can imagine on a guest list or a nametag in a conference room it’ll probably be displayed. The ceremony’s not all that different from the knighthood ceremony except there’s no sword. There’s also OBE (Order of the British Empire) and CBE (Commander of the British Empire) which have a slightly higher profile and tend to be given to second-order celebrities

[@Hand-in-Shot_Productions]

I watched this video again, and I found this quite informative! Now, I know how the knights in shining armor that English sovereigns once sent into battle now evolved into the modern knights: politicians, scientists, celebrities, and other noteworthy Britons, all of whom are addressed as _Sir_ and their first name. Thanks for making this!

[@JamesDarkos]

So part 2 on dames next week? 🤞

[@Abigael_Zed]

Thank you for this statement!!! J.J.'s continued ignorance about equality constantly reminds me why he's not worth my subscription. Even if his channel is 99% guys, it's still very important to share information about females because to do otherwise is disrespectful and enforces gender stereotypes.

[@JamesDarkos]

@@Abigael_Zed Ma'am this is a Wendy's

[@mattford6294]

In the company I worked in one of our board members wasn’t only a “sir” but was also a lord, which made it very complicated when addressing him but we just called him his first name, it was so much easier than trying to remember what his titles where

[@Liletter]

Hi, Mr. J.J. I’m one of your 24 female viewers.

[@charlienewbold9809]

Thank you for the opportunity, Sir Alan

[@mathieuleader8601]

for the first time in british history our two oppositon leaders Sir Keir Starmer of the Labour Party and Sir Ed Davey of the Liberal Democrats are both knights.

[@tonybrown9775]

I remember an MP once telling me, we have one queen, lots of lords and to many sirs, he added that I probably find a few queen's amongst the lords and sirs.

[@alysondestiny3130]

3:14 Me as a 15 year old girl: *Cue feelings of prestigiousness* "well what an intellectual I am"

[@kattatonic1]

Love the educational videos you do. Thanks!

[@splitinfinitives]

I was at an event at the Adam Smith Institute (a think tank) where the speaker, a Liberal Democrat MP called Sir Norman Lamb, was talking about drug policy. At the q&a afterwards I called him "Mr Lamb", to which he (very clearly jokingly) shot back "That's SIR NORMAN to you!" I got to have a quick chat with him afterwards where I called him "SIR NORMAN" (voice tone and all) and we had a chuckle about it. He's a great guy. It's a real shame that he didn't become party leader in 2015 and that he stood down as MP at the 2019 election. Also I think the explanatory factor(s) about which papers use the titles is that the ones that do call people 'Sir name' are the ones which are right of centre and/or tabloid/populist. The right wing/conservative papers will be more likely to be ideologically in favour of established traditions, and the readers of the tabloid/populist papers will tend to be more 'patriotic'/nationalistic, which again will come with support for established/traditional British institutions like the monarchy and knighthoods. So the Sun and the Mail are both right wing and tabloid/populist, the Times and the Telegraph are both right of centre broadsheets, and the Mirror is a left wing tabloid. By contrast, the Guardian is a left of centre broadsheet, and the Independent is left of centre (at least on cultural issues) and at least used to be a broadsheet (but still carry the mentality).

[@jarradgold1161]

J.J., great video! Very informative especially for an American whom the concept knighthood is so foreign. Can you do a video explaining british peerage (Dukes, Marquesses, Earls, Viscounts and Barons)? To me this is even more confusing than knighthood. Keep up the great work!!

[@EsteffersonTorres]

It seems to me Knighthoods are decorations like the Medals, Orders and Honors many countries have. The only difference is that you get to be called "Sir". If they are chosen based on merit, I don't see the issue.

[@whitenova754]

That's exactly it.