Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Queen's Birthday Honours: Ed Sheeran awarded MBE ahead of Glastonbury headline slot

Singer-songwriter says he is 'chuffed'

Roisin O'Connor
Saturday 17 June 2017 08:29 BST
Comments
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Ed Sheeran has been awarded MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in the Queen's annual Birthday Honours List, for services to charity and music.

Receiving the news, Sheeran posted on Instagram that he was "chuffed" and thanked fans for their messages of support.

The 26-year-old released his third album ÷ (Divide), earlier this year, which became the fastest-selling record by a male artist in history.

His monster hit 'Shape of You' recently reached one billion streams on Spotify.

The song, which was one of two singles released simultaneously at the beginning of his album campaign for ÷ [Divide] in January, passed the one billion mark in the afternoon on 8 June.

Sheeran's latest album became the fastest-selling by a male artist in history upon its release in March, debuting at No.1 in the UK Albums Chart and shifting 672,000 units in its first week - beyond what his team or analysts predicted.

The singer-songwriter, who has won multiple Brit and Grammy awards, is headlining Glastonbury's Pyramid Stage in just over a week's time, on the Sunday night.

Other culture stars to be honoured in this year's awards include Billy Connolly, who has been given a knighthood, and Star Wars and Black Mirror actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw, 34, who has been awarded an MBE.

Actress Olivia de Havilland, who starred in Gone With The Wind, was made a dame at the age of 100, along with Julie Walters, 67.

JK Rowling, Sir Paul McCartney and Delia Smith have been awarded the prestigious Order of Companions of Honour.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in