Barlow and Clarke amongst OBE recipients
Take That star Gary Barlow will return to Buckingham Palace today to be rewarded for his long career in showbusiness.
The 41-year-old X Factor judge’s OBE for services to the entertainment industry and to charity is one of several due to be awarded to celebrities today.
Barlow masterminded the triumphant Diamond Jubilee concert – staged at the Palace during a special bank holiday weekend in June – that featured a host of stars including Stevie Wonder and Sir Paul McCartney who played to a televised audience of millions.
The anthem Sing, co-written with Andrew Lloyd Webber, and featured at the Jubilee concert, topped the singles charts during the summer and his OBE was announced days later in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet, 37, who achieved worldwide fame for her role in the 1997 blockbuster Titanic, is due to receive a CBE for services to drama, 100 years after the sinking of the “unsinkable” ship.
When her honour was announced in June Winslet, who won a Best Actress Oscar in 2009 for her role in The Reader, said: “I feel deeply proud to receive this, as a part of an ever-expanding community of British actors and film-makers who are fortunate enough to be able to contribute to an international industry. This makes me very proud to be a Brit.”
Ryder Cup-winning golfer Darren Clarke is due to line up alongside Barlow to be made an OBE for services to the sport.
The charismatic Northern Irishman, 44, who won the 2011 Open Championship, was a vice captain of the European Ryder Cup team which memorably beat the US at the Medinah Country Club, Chicago, in September, having also played in five of the tournaments.
