Sir Paul McCartney made Companion of Honour for services to music

‘I think of how proud my Liverpool mum and dad would have been to see this,’ the former Beatle says

Sir Paul McCartney paid tribute to his parents as he was made a Companion of Honour for services to music.

The Beatle, 75, was joined by wife Nancy Shevell at Buckingham Palace as he received the honour from the Queen more than 20 years after his knighthood.

In a written statement to the Press Association, Sir Paul said: “I see this as a huge honour for me and my family and I think of how proud my Liverpool mum and dad would have been to see this.”

His former bandmate and only other living Beatle Sir Ringo Starr received a knighthood earlier this year.

Retired ballerina and Strictly Come Dancing judge Darcey Bussell was also honoured at the ceremony as she became a dame for services to dance.

Recipients also included former English cricketer Clare Connor, who collected a CBE, former alpine skier Sarah Lewis, OBE, and Holocaust survivor Dr Martin Stern, MBE.

The Order of the Companions of Honour was founded in 1917 and consists of the Queen and a maximum 65 other members. When one member dies another candidate can be selected.

McCartney is one of only a few singers, along with Dame Vera Lynn, 101, and opera performer Dame Janet Baker, 84, to have received the award. Other people in the arts who have been made a Companion of Honour include theatre director Peter Brook, 93, painter Bridget Riley, 87, and artist David Hockney, 80.

Other notable members of the elite group include Nobel prize-winning biologist Sydney Brenner, 91, broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, 91, and author and cook Delia Smith, 76.

Last year designer Sir Terence Conran, 86, and author JK Rowling, 52, were made Companions of Honour.

PA