Disney CEO was knighted by in an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on Monday, five years after the royal’s younger brother, , was overheard telling the Hollywood boss that would be “really interested” in doing voiceover work.
Iger’s was one of the last knighthoods to be approved by before her , and was bestowed for his services for fostering U.K.-U.S. relations.
In a to on Monday, Iger’s wife Willow Bay posted photographs from the event, writing of her pride at attending the ceremony with her family.
“Today at Windsor Castle, Bob received an honorary Knight of the Order of the British Empire (K.B.E.) presented by William, Prince of Wales,” she said. “Truly an incredible experience and a proud family moment.”
Iger’s knighthood is an honorary one which can be given on the advice of the government to non-British and Commonwealth nationals. It falls under the The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, and Iger can now display the title “KBE” (Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) behind his surname on official documents.
Responding to his appointment in 2022, the boss wrote: “It is one of the great honors of my life to have the honorary Knight of the British Empire conferred on me by Queen Elizabeth II before she passed. I have great affection for the people of the UK & have always appreciated and been inspired by their extraordinary contributions.”
Monday’s ceremony headed by William was not Iger’s first brush with British royalty.
In 2019, the studio head attended the London premiere of The Lion King accompanied by stars such as Beyoncé and score composer Sir Elton John.
Dylan Martinez – Pool/Getty Images/Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for 20th Century Studios/NIKLAS HALLE’N/AFP via Getty Images
The guests of honor at the event were the newly married Prince Harry and Meghan Markle who had welcomed their first child, , just two months earlier.
The couple had faced a period of negative tabloid media attention in the months after their wedding and a moment caught on camera between Harry and Iger was jumped on by critics.
“You know she does voiceovers,” Harry was overheard telling the Disney boss as he greeted him in a lineup on the red carpet, per People.
“Oh, really?” Iger responded to which Harry said: “Did you know that? You seem surprised.”
Harry reportedly added that “she’s really interested” which prompted Iger to respond with “Sure, we’d love to try.”
In hindsight, this has been interpreted by some as evidence of Harry and Meghan’s desire to split from the monarchy and seek independent work opportunities. In January 2020 they and move to the U.S. after which they signed with as content creators.
In 2020 Disney released a nature documentary titled Elephant which featured a voiceover narration by Meghan.
The duchess’ performance was well reviewed and, though the video of Harry’s red carpet conversation with Iger resurfaced online at the time of the movie’s release, film makers Mark Linfield and Vanessa Berlowitz told People that the royal’s first involvement with the project went back to 2017, pre-dating the time of The Lion King premiere.
William Brown is Regalrumination.com‘s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly ) at and read his stories on Regalrumination.com‘s
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