He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2000 New Year Honours. Palin was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in the 2019 New Year Honours for "services to travel, culture and geography". Palin is the only member of the Monty Python team to receive a knighthood. (John Cleese had turned down a CBE in 1996, calling it "too silly", and declined a life peerage in 1999).