Ariana Grande allegedly refused an offer from Queen Elizabeth II. The 26-year-old singer reportedly turned down the Queen's offer of damehood back in 2017.
According to sources, officials from Buckingham Palace had communicated with her in behalf of the Queen, in order to tell her about the monarch's decision to bestow the honorary title on her in the yearly New Year Honors lineup. However, it was a shock to those who contacted her that she had politely turned down the gesture from the Queen.
The prestigious title was supposed to be given to her because of the endless support and compassion she had poured into the families of the injured and deceased fans who were victims of a bombing during one of her concerts in Manchester back in May of 2017.
The incident in the Manchester Arena caused a mass panic which resulted in her fans' chaotic scramble to evacuate the place. What was supposed to be a night of fun and music ended up becoming a tragedy that took approximately 22 lives and had left hundreds of fans severely injured.
In the next few weeks after the attack, Grande had frequented the homes and hospitals of the victims of the bombing incident that had occurred during her own performance. She sat by fans, both young and old, and talked to them as they were recovering. She also grieved with the families of those who did not make it and had offered them some financial assistance.
The "thank u, next" singer consequently organized a charity concert after the bombing, one she named One Love Manchester. Over 55,000 people supported the cause by buying out all the tickets to the event. By the end of it, Grande had raised about 11.7 million euros. All the money went into the hospital bills and funeral arrangements for those victimized fans.
It was all because of this that Grande was offered the damehood by Britain's Queen. However, the pop sensation had turned down the offer and refused to accept the honorary title because she though it was "too soon" to do so.
The singer also reportedly thought it to be insensitive to receive an award to praise her for what had happened. Grande also previously told reporters that, although she thought it was such a lovely gesture, she just did not think it was right to receive the said honorary title.
Grande is not the first singer who has been reluctant to receive such honor from the Queen. Other artists who had turned down an honorary title from Queen Elizabeth include John Lennon, David Bowie, and George Harrison.
