Benedict Cumberbatch To Be Recognized As A Commander Of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire

“If you have a fancy to see your name in the next honours list….”

– The Adventure of The Bruce Partington Plans (BRUC)

From Lucy Mapstone’s June 10, 2015 story in the Daily Mail:

Benedict Cumberbatch didn’t manage to pick up an Oscar Award this year.

But he is set to receive of the most prestigious titles an actor can get: according to reports, the Sherlock star is due to be given CBE in the Queen’s birthday honours this coming Saturday.The Sun has claimed the 38-year-old actor will be rewarded for his services to drama, after having starred in the hit BBC programme since 2010.

A source told the newspaper that it’s quite surprising that Benedict will be given the huge honour at such a young age, with a general feeling within the industry that he might be taking the honour too early.

‘It’s not as though he’s a veteran actor such as John Hurt, who didn’t get the CBE until he was 64,’ they explained.

Another insider added: ‘Benedict is clearly very talented but a CBE is normally those coming towards the end of their careers.’

The paper also claimed that the star, who rose to international fame just five years ago thanks to his role as the iconic fictional detective, was told of his coup weeks ago.

A CBE is fully known as Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, and is given to those who have a prominent role at a national level in their field – in Benedict’s case, drama.

However, it is a lesser title than a knighthood or damehood, which is awarded to those who have had a significantly long-running contribution in their area.

As well as Benedict’s role in the internationally successful Sherlock, he also reaped the benefits of his role as Alan Turing in this year’s hit film, The Imitation Game.

He was widely praised for his role as the code breaker, and was nominated for several top awards during the movie awards season.

He received nods at the Oscars, as well as the BAFTAs, the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards and the Golden Globes, among many others.

But he failed to take home any of the top prizes, losing out on many of the Best Actor nominations to his friend Eddie Redmayne, who swept the board for his portrayal of Professor Stephen Hawking in The Theory Of Everything.

He has also starred in big-hitting films 12 Years A Slave, Atonement, The Fifth Estate, The Hobbit series and and War Horse.

Elsewhere, Benedict’s personal life is going swimmingly: he tied the knot with theatre director Sophie Hunter in February, and the couple are now expecting their first child together.

The badge for the CBE is in the form of a cross patonce (having the arms growing broader and floriated toward the end), the obverse of which bears the left facing busts of King George V and Queen Mary; the reverse bears George V’s Royal and Imperial Cypher. Both are within a ring bearing the motto of the Order. The badges are enamelled with pale blue crosses and crimson ring, and is suspended from a ribbon that is rose-pink with pearl-grey edges, with the addition of a pearl-grey central stripe for the military division.