What honorific title was George Harrison awarded with the other Beatles in 1965? The answer is MBE, short for Member of the Order of the British Empire.
The Beatles were appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire in the 1965 Queen’s Birthday Honours. George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were recognized together at the height of Beatlemania, when their cultural and commercial impact had become impossible for Britain’s establishment to ignore.
They received their insignia from Queen Elizabeth II at an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on 26 October 1965. The decision attracted controversy: some earlier MBE recipients protested that popular entertainers were being given an honor traditionally associated with public or wartime service.
MBE is not the same as OBE or CBE, which are higher grades within the Order of the British Empire. Nor was the Beatles’ award a knighthood; the band members were appointed Members, so “MBE” is the precise answer. Lennon later returned his insignia in 1969, but Harrison retained his.