Sir Stephen Fry ‘chuffed to the heavens’ to receive knighthood
The actor, screenwriter and author joked that if it would help his charity work ‘then they should make me a duke’.
Actor and broadcaster Sir Stephen Fry said he was “chuffed” to receive his knighthood and joked that if it would help his charity work “then they should make me a duke”.
The actor, screenwriter and author was speaking after he was knighted by the King in recognition of services to mental health awareness, the environment and to charity.
Speaking after Tuesday’s ceremony at Windsor Castle where he was watched by his husband Elliott Spencer, mother Marianne and sister Joanna, Sir Stephen, 67, said: “I am very chuffed. I am chuffed to the heavens, to the high walls of the castle.”
Sir Stephen added: “My mother is beaming like a lighthouse.
“She is very, very happy, especially given the grief I gave her, my father and the rest of the family as a child and a teenager.
“It is some kind of public event that is not embarrassing for them.”
There is “no question” that the special day is payback to his family for their support over the years and also, on a personal level, it is it “very important” that the knighthood is in recognition of his charity work, he said.
Sir Stephen has been president of the charity Mind since 2011 and since 2009 has been vice-president of conservation charity Fauna & Flora International.
On whether the knighthood will help him progress his charity efforts, he joked: “Whether the knighthood helps in that sense, I don’t know.
“Some people are glamourised by these things but if it gives me an extra ability to pound a table and suggest some law changes or things like that, then that is a marvellous advantage, no question.
“Maybe in that case they should make me a duke, that would be even more impressive.”
Since 1991, the Blackadder star and former QI host has also worked with the Terrence Higgins Trust, raising awareness and funds for people with HIV and Aids.
In 2006 he fronted BBC programme Stephen Fry’s The Secret Life Of The Manic Depressive and has been open about his struggles with mental illness – he has bipolar disorder – over the years.
Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that leads to extreme changes in mood and energy levels which are far beyond most people’s experiences of feeling happy or down.
Sir Stephen added: “I am lucky enough to be associated with quite a few charities who are extraordinary institutions who do incredible work.
“Mind, over the time I have been president, has made real inroads to helping reduce stigma and build confidence among people of all ages to come forward to see their doctor, to visit the Mind website and avail themselves of opportunities to talk and to find out more if they feel maybe something isn’t as should be and needs attention.
“It can be something in their behaviour, something in their mood.
“Some people may say it has been overdiagnosed now, but you have to remember that we are living in a time of an epidemic of self-harm.
He added: “This is a real crisis and we can’t just say ‘oh, just walk it off’. Nature is an incredible healer in some ways but there are some problems that are too serious. They need to be helped and Mind is there for that.
“I am very honoured to be honoured for my association with them.”
The son of an inventor, Sir Stephen was born in London in 1957, but the family later moved to rural Norfolk.
He has spoken candidly about the bad experiences he had at boarding school, from which he was eventually expelled.
Sir Stephen went on to study at the University of Cambridge where his contemporaries included Dame Emma Thompson, Tony Slattery and Hugh Laurie, with whom he formed a successful writing and performing partnership.
At Cambridge, Sir Stephen became involved with student sketch comedy troupe the Cambridge Footlights, and he and House star Laurie went on to form the comic double act Fry and Laurie, with their work including A Bit Of Fry & Laurie as well as taking the title roles in Jeeves And Wooster.
Over the years his other notable acting roles have also included his performance as Oscar Wilde in the 1997 film Wilde, which saw him nominated for a Golden Globe.
He famously played Lord Melchett in comedy series Blackadder, as well as starring as Mycroft Holmes in Warner Brothers’ Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows and as the Master of Lake-town in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit.
He starred in HBO’s Veep, and his documentary Stephen Fry: The Secret Life Of The Manic Depressive won the international Emmy for best documentary.
Sir Stephen has written three volumes of his autobiography: Moab Is My Washpot, The Fry Chronicles and More Fool Me, and four novels: The Liar, The Hippopotamus, Making History and The Stars’ Tennis Balls, with some of his recently published works including Mythos, Heroes, Troy and Odyssey.
