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Britain's Queen Elizabeth stands with Microsoft chairman and philanthropist Bill Gates after presenting him with an honorary knighthood at Buckingham Palace, London, March 2, 2005. (REUTERS/Chris Young/Pool)
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Sir Bill? Not quite. Proclaiming himself "humbled2 and delighted," Microsoft founder3 Bill Gates received an honorary knighthood Wednesday from Queen Elizabeth II - an accolade4 that allows the recipient5 to use "KBE" after his name, but not to put "Sir" in front of it.
One of the world's richest men, Gates, 49, was being honored for his charitable activities around the world and his contribution to enterprise in Britain.
Past recipients6 of the honorary knighthood range from Irish singer Bob Geldof to former U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
"This honor is particularly poignant7 given the deep connections Microsoft enjoys with the United Kingdom," said Gates, whose company employs about 2,000 people in Britain.
Gates' royal honor - bestowed8 by the queen on the advice of the government - was announced in January 2004, but a "mutually convenient" date to receive it had not been available until now.
British recipients of knighthoods are entitled to be addressed with a "Sir" before their names. The honor was long the preserve of senior soldiers, judges and other servants of the state, but recent years have seen the creation of Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Mick Jagger and Sir Elton John.
As an American, Gates is not entitled to use "Sir" before his name, but he can put the initials KBE - Knight1 Commander of the British Empire - after his name.
Gates joins a roster9 of American knights10 that includes former presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, comedian11 Bob Hope, retired12 U.S. Army Gen. Tommy Franks and former Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Gates said he was proud of what he called Microsoft's "special relationship" with Britain.
"The U.K. was the first country in which Microsoft set up a subsidiary outside the U.S., and our experience in the U.K. has been significant in shaping our international growth," he said.
Microsoft's British facilities include Research Cambridge, a laboratory established in 1997 in the university town that employs 80 scientists. In 2000, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a donation of $210 million to Cambridge University to create a scholarship program for graduate students from outside Britain.
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比尔爵士？这一说法并不确切。本周三（3月2日），微软开山鼻祖比尔·盖茨“诚惶诚恐”又“高高兴兴”地接受了英女王伊莉莎白二世授予他的爵级司令勋章，这一称号允许受封者把“大英帝国司令勋章爵士”头衔的缩写形式KBE加在自己的名字后面，但名字前面并不能加上“爵士”字样。
49岁的盖茨是世界上最富有的人之一，他因在世界范围内的慈善捐赠和对英国企业做出的贡献而获此殊荣。
之前获得过同样荣誉的还有爱尔兰歌星鲍勃·格尔多夫和美国前总统罗纳德·里根。
“微软公司和英国的关系一直都很密切，这次能够被授予荣誉勋章我特别感动。”盖茨说，他的公司在英国雇佣了2000名员工。
早在2004年1月，英女王就在英政府的授意下宣布授予盖茨这一荣誉称号。但是一个“对双方都合适”的受封日期直到现在才确定下来。
被授予荣誉爵士身份的英国人有资格在自己的姓名前面加上“爵士”字样。这一荣誉长期以来只能授予高级军人、法官和其他国家公务员，但近年来也出现了保罗·麦卡尼爵士（披头士成员），米克·贾格尔爵士（滚石乐队的主唱）和埃尔顿·约翰爵士（流行音乐大师）。
作为美国人，盖茨不能在他的名字前面加上“爵士”字样，但是他可以在名字后面加上“大英帝国司令勋章爵士”头衔的缩写形式KBE 。
至此，盖茨成了美籍爵士花名册上的一员，他的“同僚”还包括美国前总统里根和乔治·H·W·布什、喜剧演员鲍勃·霍普、美国退休陆军上将汤米·弗兰克斯和美国前国务卿科林·鲍威尔。
盖茨说，他为微软和英国之间的“特殊关系”感到骄傲。
他说：“英国是微软在美国本土之外设立子公司的第一个国家。我们在英国获得了宝贵的经验，这对构筑微软后来的跨国扩张是非常重要的。”
微软在英国设立的机构还包括1997年成立的微软剑桥研究院，该实验室位于剑桥镇，共有80位科学家在那里工作。2000年，比尔和梅林达·盖茨基金会宣布向剑桥大学捐赠2.1亿美元，用以创立一个针对来自英国之外的毕业生的奖学金项目。
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