100 year old British captain raises Rs 301 crore for COVID-19 health workers, gets Knighted

London, July 18: A 100-year-old World War II veteran Captain who became a national celebrity by raising 32 million pounds for the UK's National Health Service (NHS) has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in an outdoor ceremony in Windsor Castle on Friday.

Captain Sir Tom Moore raised almost 32 million pounds by walking laps of his backyard and ended up receiving a knighthood after a special nomination from Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The ceremony marked the Queen's return to her public duties after the coronavirus pandemic forced her to cancel virtually all of her engagements.

After the coronavirus pandemic started, this is the first time the Queen's returned to her public duties. Queen knighted Moore with her father's sword, and praised him for his fundraising efforts, saying, "Thank you so much, an amazing amount of money you raised," according to the Media news agency.

Before the ceremony veteran tweeted that he was "ready and raring to go for what is a very special day."

"I could never have imagined this would happen to me. It is such a huge honour and I am very much looking forward to meeting Her Majesty The Queen," he said earlier in the week. "It is going to be the most special of days for me."

The war veteran has been recognised for walking more than 100 laps of his garden in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire.

"If I kneel down I'll never get up again," he said as he left his home for Windsor Castle earlier Friday.