Queen 'to resist' attempts to drop 'Empire' from honour system in UK

London, Sept. 3 (ANI): The Queen will resist any attempts to remove the word 'Empire' from awards such as the OBE or CBE, sources have revealed.

Sources said that the Queen believes the honours system should remain as it is, with any changes to happen only when Prince Charles becomes King.

"I have been told that her view is: 'If it really must be changed, can you please wait until I am no longer Monarch?'" the source said.

According to the Telegraph, a campaign, supported by Labour, is underway to replace the word 'Empire' with 'Excellence' in the titles of honours because it was a 'jingoistic relic' of Britain's colonial past.

Bernard Jenkin, Tory MP and chairman of the Commons Public Administration Select Committee, which investigated the honours system, said: "If this is the Queen's view, it is perfectly understandable".

"An 'Order' of the British excellence sounds wet and is the kind of thing that must make her heart sink," the report quoted Jenkin, as saying.

A spokesman for Buckingham Palace has, however, declined to comment, saying that it would not comment on the Queen's personal views or speculation as to what she might think, the report said. (ANI)