Sir Michael Palin 'will probably be only knighted Python'

Michael Palin has predicted he will be the only Monty Python member to become a sir after being dubbed a knight by Prince William at Buckingham Palace.

"I'll probably be the only one," he said, adding that fellow Python John Cleese had turned down the chance.

It is not known if Cleese rejected a knighthood, but he did refuse a CBE in 1996 and a peerage in 1999.

Sir Michael also said he had managed to suppress a joke while speaking to the Duke of Cambridge on Wednesday.

"He talked about where I was going next, any parts of the world I really wanted to go that I hadn't already," revealed the broadcaster.

The 76-year-old said he normally answered "Middlesbrough" when asked the question but on this occasion opted for Kazakhstan.

Sir Michael did in fact visit Middlesbrough, for the first time, in 2015.

Speaking after the investiture ceremony, the Pole to Pole presenter also spoke about the BBC's decision to scrap free TV licences for all over-75s.

He said the BBC had done "a pretty bad deal" in agreeing to take on the cost of free licences in 2015.

"I hoped somehow that would somehow go away and it hasn't gone away," he continued.

"I just wish it wasn't at the expense of the people who now have to fork out for their licence."

Sir Michael was knighted in the New Year Honours for services to travel, culture and geography.

Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle and Terry Jones are the other surviving members of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Graham Chapman, the sixth member, died in 1989.

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