1.   British knighthood confers status, respect and, it might be thought, the peace of mind that comes with a sense of arrival.

2.   Coincidentally, Sean Connery was learning that he had just been denied a British knighthood.

3.   Ajax coach Louis van Gaal has been named a Knight in the Order of Oranje Nassau, a Dutch title awarded by Queen Beatrix equivalent to a British knighthood.

4.   However, it still regularly awards British imperial knighthoods to deserving citizens, including sports heroes.

5.   Rolling Stone Mick Jagger is set to receive a British knighthood for services to music, newspapers here reported Sunday.