...despite once calling his mum 'a sad little old lady’

Barry Humphries and Ben Elton have been given awards in the King’s Birthday Honours.

The Dame Edna Everage creator has posthumously been made an AC, a Companion in the General Division of the Order of Australia – the second-highest honour given to Australians beneath Knight… or Dame.

The comedian, who died in Sydney in April at the age of 89, was honoured for ‘eminent service to the arts as a comedian, actor, author, satirist and entertainer, to the promotion of Australian culture, and as a patron of organisations’.

No more than 35 ACs are announced each year.

Meanwhile, the once anti-establishment Elton has been accepted the next honour down, Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia.

Elton – currently appearing in the West End version of We Will Rock You, the Queen musical he wrote – is honoured under the Australian system as he spends much of the time in Fremantle in Western Australia, where he lives with his wife, the saxophonist Sophie Gare.

Elton – under his full name of Benjamin Charles Elton – was honoured for ‘significant service to the entertainment industry as a comedian, actor, writer and director.’

The comic has previously said Australia should dump the monarchy and become a republic with an Aboriginal head of state.

An on Australian comedy show Good News Week in 2009, Elton called the late Queen ‘a sad little old lady’, Prince Philip a ‘mad old bigot’ and Charles a ‘disillusioned ex-hippy’. He later wrote to Charles to apologise for  all the comments, saying he was ‘embarrassed’ that jokes had been taken out of context.

Following the backlash, he said: ‘There's no moral justification for a single family always providing the head of state. Nevertheless, it has delivered a great deal of stability. We're fortunate that our Royal Family appears to be made up of decent, caring, flawed but honest individuals. The Queen is clearly a woman of great integrity. So, while the system is ridiculous, it seems to work.’

Elton, who has often worked with Charles’ Prince Trust charity added: ‘I wouldn't count the Prince as a friend, but I have had friendly dealings with him, and I'm proud to have done so.’

Also recognised today are veteran stand-ups Judith Lucy and Denise Scott, above, who often work together, both also made AMs.

British recipients of honours in the King’s Birthday Honours will be announced on Saturday.

Published: 12 Jun 2023