During an ceremony conducted at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday, March 14, King Charles III bestowed the title of Knight Bachelor on renowned rock and roll guitarist Brian May. May was awarded the honor in recognition of his charity endeavors as well as for all he has contributed to the music industry.

May was one of the co-founders of the famous rock group Queen in the 1970s and this is not the first time he has been to Buckingham Palace, having performed there for both Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee in 2002 and for her Platinum Jubilee 20 years later. He also had the opportunity to greet the late Queen in person at a reception in 2005, along with other great British guitarists Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Jeff Beck. He seems to have been quite a favorite with the Royal family.

The Queen member posted a picture of himself on his Instagram account, grinning widely as the King placed the sword on his shoulder. May was chosen as one of the 1,100 people to be named on King Charles’ New Year Honors List, the King’s first since assuming the throne. Sir Brian May also said that his wife of 22 years, Anita Dobson was thrilled to be addressed as Lady May from now on.

Sir May is not only a legendary rock guitarist but also an astrophysicist. After abandoning his studies in the 70’s to focus on music, he picked up where he had left off and succeeded in receiving his doctorate in astrophysics in 2007 from Imperial College in London.

In addition to music and astrophysics, Sir May also is passionate about his charity work. He is an outspoken advocate for animal rights and established his Save Me Trust in 2010 to fight against fox hunting and badger culling in the UK.

May told the Associated Press that he was extremely proud and happy and that having the “Sir” added to his name might encourage a few more people to listen to him. He said that having a bit more influence after the ceremony would be wonderful.