"I hope [Queen Elizabeth] is not very heavy handed with the sword," he joked.
Captain Tom Moore, who raised more than $40 million by doing laps around his garden with his walker, is now a knight. Moore was knighted by Prime Minister Boris Johnson for his service during the coronavirus pandemic. The 100-year-old army veteran’s official title is now Captain Sir Thomas Moore after receiving the honorary title of colonel on his birthday in April.
“I certainly feel I’ve been given a very outstanding honor by the Queen and the Prime Minister and I thank them all very much,” Moore said in an interview with the BBC. “I’m overawed that this happened to me.”
Moore had originally set out to raise £1,000 ($1,200) for hospital charities by walking laps in a loop around his garden in Bedfordshire. He eventually went on to raise more than £32 million ($40 million).
That effort went on to break records and “inspired the whole country,” Johnson said in a statement. “On behalf of everyone who has been moved by his incredible story, I want to say a huge thank you. He’s a true national treasure.
"In his actions, Tom embodied the national solidarity which has grown throughout this crisis, and showed us that everyone can play their part in helping build a better future,” Johnson continued, calling him “a beacon of light through the fog of coronavirus.”
When asked whether he’s looking forward to being knighted by Queen Elizabeth herself, Moore joked, “I hope she’s not very heavy handed with the sword. By then I might be rather a poor old weak soul.”
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