Michael Williams, the actor and husband of Dame Judi Dench, has received a Papal knighthood for his contribution to Catholic life in Britain.Williams, 65, who played alongside his wife in ITV's A Fine Romance, has been appointed a Knight of St Gregory, one of the highest honours conferred by the Catholic Church.
The actor, who was diagnosed with lung cancer last year, is the former chairman and now the vice-president of the Catholic Stage Guild.
The Order of St Gregory was established by Pope Gregory XVI in 1831 and is awarded to those who are distinguished for personal character and reputation and for notable accomplishment.
The honours are awarded to individuals throughout the world and there are currently about 400 in Britain. Mr Williams said: "I am thrilled and delighted to have been honoured in this way."
News of his cancer was published in August last year and, after undergoing radiation treatment, he declared of the illness: "I've licked it."
Dame Judi, 65, a Quaker, has been married to Mr Williams for nearly 30 years and every Friday she receives a single red rose from him wherever she is in the world. The couple sold their house in Hampstead, north London, in October so they could spend more time in their home in Reigate, Surrey, where Dame Judi is nursing her husband.
Mr Williams spent 14 years as a leading man in the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he met Dame Judi and married her in 1971.
Thanks to Mike Kennedy for bringing this to my attention. It appeared at the site of The Independent on November 25, 2000.