When a British monarch knights someone, the recipient kneels on a velvet stool on their right knee, and the monarch lays the flat of a sword blade on their right shoulder, lifts it, and places it on the left shoulder. That two-tap motion is called dubbing, and it is the moment the knighthood is formally conferred.1The Royal Family. Knighthoods and Damehoods Queen Elizabeth II performed this ritual thousands of times over her 70-year reign; since September 2022, King Charles III has carried it on.
The Moment of Knighting, Step by Step
The dubbing takes only seconds, but it sits inside a carefully choreographed ceremony called an investiture. Around 30 investitures are held each year, with more than 60 recipients at each one, in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace or the Grand Reception Room at Windsor Castle.2The Royal Family. Investitures The Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood runs the logistics, from scheduling to seating.3The Royal Family. Behind the Scenes: Investitures
Before anything begins, palace staff brief every recipient on where to walk, when to bow, and how to move around the dais. When a recipient’s name is called, they approach the monarch, who stands on the raised platform. The recipient kneels on the investiture stool on their right knee. The monarch then takes the sword and performs the dubbing: flat of the blade to the right shoulder, then to the left.1The Royal Family. Knighthoods and Damehoods
Immediately after the dubbing, the monarch places the insignia of the relevant order around the new knight’s neck or pins it to the chest. A short conversation follows, usually under a minute, in which the monarch acknowledges the recipient’s particular service. The recipient steps back, bows, and exits so the next person can be received. Afterwards there is a professional photography session, and each recipient collects an official insignia case for safekeeping.
Not Everyone Is Dubbed With the Sword
One point routinely gets misunderstood: dames are not dubbed. Only men being knighted kneel on the stool and receive the sword tap on both shoulders. Women receiving the equivalent honour of damehood stand before the monarch, receive their insignia, and have the same brief conversation, but the kneeling-and-sword element is skipped entirely.1The Royal Family. Knighthoods and Damehoods
The sword ceremony is also limited to certain ranks within the honours system. Only the top two ranks of an order carry the “Sir” or “Dame” title and the dubbing that goes with a knighthood: in the Order of the British Empire, that means the GBE (Knight or Dame Grand Cross) and the KBE or DBE (Knight or Dame Commander).4The Gazette. What Is the Difference Between a CBE, OBE, MBE and a Knighthood Recipients of a CBE, OBE, or MBE attend an investiture and receive their insignia, but they are not knighted and use only post-nominal letters after their names.
A separate strand of knighthood, the Knight Bachelor, is the oldest form in Britain. A Knight Bachelor is dubbed in the same way and uses “Sir,” but is not inducted into any specific order and does not carry post-nominal letters, though reference works sometimes use “Kt.” for clarity.5Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Titles and Styles of Knights and Dames
The Sword Used for Dubbing
There is no single ceremonial sword handed down for every knighting. Each member of the Royal Family who conducts investitures uses their own personal sword when performing the dubbing.6The Royal Family. Behind the Scenes: Investitures The flat of the blade is what touches the shoulder, not the edge, and the tap is deliberately light.
Why the Monarch Is the One Who Knights
The power to grant honours sits within the Royal Prerogative, a set of authorities the monarch holds without needing parliamentary approval. The sovereign is known as the “fount of honour” and retains the sole right to confer all titles, including peerages, knighthoods, and gallantry awards.7Wikipedia. Fount of Honour That is why the dubbing itself must be performed by the monarch or, on their behalf, another senior member of the Royal Family conducting the investiture.
Any British citizen can receive a substantive knighthood, as can citizens of Commonwealth realms where the monarch is head of state; those recipients may use “Sir” or “Dame” before their name. Foreign nationals from countries where the monarch is not head of state can also be knighted, but their honours are honorary: they may use the post-nominal letters, but they cannot style themselves “Sir” or “Dame.” If they later become British citizens, they may apply to convert the honour to a substantive one.8The Gazette. American Citizens With Honorary British Knighthoods and Damehoods
What a New Knight Is Called
Once dubbed, a man is addressed as “Sir” followed by his first name, or by his full name. He is never addressed as “Sir” with only his surname. “Sir Elton” is correct; “Sir John” is correct; “Sir Jones” is not.9Standing Council of the Baronetage. Addressing a Baronet Women receiving a damehood follow the same pattern: “Dame” plus first name.
The wife of a knight receives a courtesy title. She may use “Lady” before her husband’s surname, so the wife of Sir John Smith becomes Lady Smith. She is not obligated to use the title and may continue using her own name. If the couple later divorces, a former wife who keeps the surname may continue using “Lady.” A widow keeps the title until she remarries and takes another name.5Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Titles and Styles of Knights and Dames
The husband of a dame does not receive a courtesy title. A couple in that situation would be addressed jointly using their individual names, for example “Dame Joan and Mr John Grant.”5Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Titles and Styles of Knights and Dames
Preparing to Attend the Ceremony
After the honour is publicly announced, the Central Chancery contacts recipients with logistical arrangements. Recipients are generally allowed to bring up to three guests. The dress code is formal daytime attire: morning dress, military uniform, national dress, or a lounge suit for men, and a smart suit or formal daytime outfit for women. Evening wear such as a dinner jacket is not appropriate, since investitures are daytime events. Recipients must also submit identification and security details in advance to be cleared for entry to the palace.
The briefing before the ceremony is thorough enough that no recipient walks into the Throne Room unsure of when to step forward, when to kneel, or when to bow. By the time the sword touches the first shoulder, everything about the moment has already been rehearsed.