Chapter 1071: Ennoblement

In the office, Xia Yu smiled with a drink of tea in his hands, his expression indifferent.

After listening to Xia Yu's calm narration, Elena said joyfully, 'Xia Yu, in fact, with your contributions to the UK, the royal family should have ennobled you a long time ago. Although it's a bit late, it's finally here.'

'In the future, do I have to call you Sir Xia?'

Elena said, batting her beautiful big eyes playfully at Xia Yu.

Although her father was a duke, a rank far higher than the knighthood the royal family wanted to confer on Xia Yu, she was still sincerely happy for Xia Yu, because it represented the royal family's recognition of Xia Yu.

Xia Yu stroked Elena's hand and jokingly said, 'Elena, then what should I call you, Lady Knight?'

Elena blushed, looked guiltily out of the door, and only relaxed when she saw that the office door was still closed.

She gave Xia Yu a provocative look and said somewhat arrogantly, 'You don't count, you have to ask my dad if he agrees.'

Xia Yu laughed, embraced Elena in his arms, and said domineeringly, 'Even if your dad doesn't agree, he has to. Can you find another son-in-law like him in the whole world?'

After saying this, Xia Yu did not wait for the shy Elena to reply, and lowered his head directly, catching the soft and warm X X.

After a long time, Xia Yu raised his head again, looking at Elena, whose face was rosy and her eyes were confused, as if she were a delicate and blooming rose waiting to be picked. A sense of satisfaction rose in his heart.

Elena felt weak and unable to move as Xia Yu's burning gaze fell upon her. Her intuition told her that if she let Xia Yu continue, more might happen.

Therefore, regaining some sense, Elena reluctantly broke free from Xia Yu's embrace, straightened her blouse, and took the initiative to change the subject to distract Xia Yu's attention.

'Xia Yu, so are you going to accept the knighthood bestowed by the royal family?'

Xia Yu smiled and nodded, saying, 'Of course, even if I abandon my assets in the UK, I can't abandon you. Since I am destined to have a deeper connection with the UK, it will be much more convenient to accept the royal title, even though the title of knight is not precious.'

Although she knew that Xia Yu was deliberately coaxing her, women are the same, they all like to hear sweet words from their loved ones. Elena was very happy, and the look in her eyes for Xia Yu became more tender and admiring.

Back to the topic.

As Xia Yu said, the title of Sir is not precious. Here, I have to mention the British honours system.

The British honours system is particularly mixed. Without going into the details, let's just talk about the difference between a Lord and a Sir.

Lord is a respectful title for the five levels of British nobility: the Duke, the Marquess, the Earl, the Viscount and the Baron. In fact, the title Lord does not exist, which is a blind spot for many people.

Apart from hereditary aristocrats from ancient times, almost all the aristocrats currently granted titles in the UK are life-long aristocrats, and the life-long aristocrats and hereditary aristocrats are of the same rank as barons, so they also enjoy the respectful title of Lord.

However, there is a clear difference between a knight and a baron.

Within the hierarchy of the honours system, a knight is a class below a baronet and above a gentleman. Like a gentleman or a baronet, a knight is not a member of the aristocracy.

The Queen of England can confer the title of knight on anyone from any country.

However, only British subjects, including British nationals and nationals of some Commonwealth countries, have the right to the title 'Sir'.

For example, Kimchi Lee is a South Korean citizen. The Queen of England can award him the title of Knight of the Order of the British Empire, but Kimchi Lee cannot call himself Sir Kimchi Lee, because he does not owe allegiance to the Queen.

Therefore, foreigners who have contributed to the UK are almost always awarded the title of Sir, rather than a noble title. Even if a peerage is granted, the recipient cannot use the title of nobility because they do not swear allegiance to the Queen.

However, Xia Yu is a Chinese national with British and American citizenship. When he was in Hong Kong, he had the status of a British National (Overseas) by default, and was legally a subject of the Queen. Therefore, once he accepted the peerage bestowed by the Queen, in addition to the title, he can also use the title of nobility or Sir.

It is fine for others to call him Sir Xia.

However, Xia Yu is 'in Cao's camp but his heart is in Han'. Even though he has accepted the British Queen's knighthood, he intends to let others call him 'Mr Xia' rather than 'Sir Xia', unless he is attending an internal gathering of the British aristocracy, in which case he will have to use this title.

...

Three days later.

Xia Yu, dressed in formal attire, entered Buckingham Palace and found that in addition to Prince Philip and his wife, there were actually several other dukes inside, which came as quite a surprise to him.

Duke of Norfolk Carter Howard, Duke of Argyll Ian Campbell, Duke of Westminster Robert Grosvenor and Duke of Devonshire Potter Philip Cavendish.

Of the three dukes other than Duke Carter Howard, the one Xia Yu knew slightly was Duke Potter Philip Cavendish, because the majority of the shares in the Financial Times Group were bought from the Pearson Group, which was owned by Duke Potter Philip Cavendish.

As for whether these dukes happened to be here or deliberately came to be witnesses, Xia Yu did not know and did not ask.

In the presence of everyone, the British queen held an investiture ceremony for Xia Yu and personally presented him with the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (abbreviated as 'GBE' for both men and women), the highest rank of the five ranks of the Order of the British Empire. The rank is even higher than that of Bao Yugang, who was knighted the year before.

He became the third Chinese person in Hong Kong to receive a knighthood and the highest honour of a knight after Kan Yuet-keung and Chung Sze-yuen.

When he saw the medal, Xia Yu was only slightly surprised, and then he guessed the deeper meaning of the royal family awarding him such a high honour.

However, he didn't care, whether the British were doing it for face-saving or for psychological comfort, a mere knighthood could not hinder the stability and future of Hong Kong.

It could even be said that the sudden award of an honorary knighthood was the British royal family's attempt to further ingratiate themselves with him at this time, and in fact was already a worst-case scenario.

Therefore, Xia Yu was in a good mood all morning.

After the award ceremony, Xia Yu was planning to leave, but unexpectedly Prince Philip invited him to go golfing with him and a few other grand dukes.

Xia Yu gladly accepted the invitation as he couldn't refuse such a gracious offer.

They enjoyed a sumptuous lunch at Buckingham Palace, during which the Queen took the initiative to ask Xia Yu about many things in Hong Kong. Xia Yu's answers were both prudent and witty, and he used the 'Tai Chi' technique to deflect some sensitive and profound topics.

After lunch, the group boarded the royal Bentley convoy and headed to the London Golf Club, which is about 20 kilometres away. This is one of the top golf clubs within London, with a 36-hole championship-level golf course, and it is one of the best hilly courses in the UK and even in Europe.

During the conversation, Xia Yu also learned that Prince Philip is a major shareholder of this London Golf Club.

Led by the major shareholder, everyone is a powerful person and naturally enjoys super VIP treatment. Under the guidance of the staff, they went to the central area at the end of the scenic spot.

Standing on the hillside, the breeze caressed their faces, overlooking the idyllic scenery of nearly 700 acres. A sense of tranquility and peacefulness came from all directions, giving one a full enjoyment.

'This golf course is fantastic!'

Xia Yu praised, making Prince Philip, the host, who was reorganising his equipment again, smile happily.

'This golf club is considered one of the best in the world. Mr Xia, I hope you have a pleasant afternoon.'

'That's for sure!'

Xia Yu responded with a smile.

While chatting, the six people began to form groups of three. Xia Yu was in a group with the Duke of Ian Campbell and the Duke of Carter Howard, while Prince Philip was in a group with the Duke of Robert Grosvenor and the Duke of Porter Philip Cavendish.

Although Xia Yu was the youngest, his golf skills were not inferior to anyone else's. However, in this kind of entertaining atmosphere, in a competition that focused on social interaction, he had no intention of stealing the limelight. After a few highlights, he just relaxed.

After playing for a while, during the halftime break, the Duke of Ian Campbell, who he had become familiar with, walked up to Xia Yu and took out a very exquisite invitation.

Xia Yu took it and heard the gentle voice of the Duke of Ian Campbell in his ear.

'Sir Xia, in three days I will be holding the coming-of-age ceremony for my child, Tokuhir Ian Campbell. I hope you can come!'

Xia Yu's eyes showed surprise, and a smile spread across his face. He nodded and laughed, 'Thank you, Sir Campbell, for the grand invitation. I will definitely attend.'

Duke Carter Howard, who was standing nearby, came over and said to Xia Yu, 'Sir Xia, you can go with me as a pair. Elena and Henry will also go together.'

'Oh?'

Xia Yu's eyebrows shot up, and he looked at Duke Carter Howard with some surprise.

Before Duke Carter Howard could reply, Duke Ian Campbell smiled and explained to Xia Yu.

'Sir Xia, you may not know, but Sir Carter's children, Elena and Henry, are good friends with my children.'

Xia Yu really didn't know this insider information.

He said with a smile, 'I see, this is the first time I've heard of it...'

'Haha...'