Andrew Lloyd Webber made a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter
Thursday, April 25, 2024
A recognition more prestigious than a knighthood is given to the British composer
Buckingham Palace has announced that Andrew Lloyd Webber is being made a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. This new recognition of the seven-time Olivier Award-winning composer of The Phantom of the Opera, Cats and Jesus Christ Superstar will be celebrated at a ceremony and procession at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
This is a particularly prestigious honour as there can only be a maximum of 24 Knight Companions at one time – there are currently 21 including Lloyd Webber.
Andrew Lloyd Webber was knighted in 1992 and subsequently given a life peerage in the 1997 New Year’s Honours. As of the summer, the composer’s full official name will be The Right Honourable Lord Lloyd Webber KG.
The celebrated composer was delighted by the announcement: 'I am humbled, grateful and, quite frankly, staggered to have been made a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter by His Majesty King Charles III. This is the greatest honour of my life.'
In a recent column for Musicals, Edward Seckerson described Lloyd Webber’s prowess as a purveyor of sumptuous lyric ballads: ‘He’s a throwback to a bygone melodic style – more gracious, more opulent, more enduring. One is reminded of the heyday of Novello, Lowe and his idol Rodgers.’
Lloyd Webber has recently been enjoying increased exposure due to Jamie Lloyd’s Sunset Boulevard which won seven Oliviers, including Outstanding Musical Contribution. The production transfers to Broadway in October. His 1980s musical, Starlight Express, meanwhile, is being revived for Wembley’s Troubadour Theatre in June – see our feature next issue.
