LONDON: British singer Adele and “Blackadder” stars Rowan Atkinson and Tony Robinson were among those given awards in this year's Queen's Birthday Honours announced late Friday.

Adele, 25, was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), which she adds to an already bulging trophy cabinet of several Grammys and an Oscar for the James Bond song “Skyfall”.

Atkinson, the star of the hugely popular British comedies “Blackadder” and the later “Mr Bean” series, was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

The 58-year-old said the award, announced to mark Queen Elizabeth II's official birthday, was a “genuine surprise and a great honour”.

He was upstaged however by Robinson, 66, who played his long-suffering side-kick Baldrick and who received a knighthood.

Fittingly, the two men were honoured on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the first episode of “Blackadder” on June 15, 1983.

Robinson, who went on to present a popular television series about archaeology, said he was “thrilled, flattered and a little gob-smacked” to get the honour.

“I also pledge that from this day on I'll slaughter all unruly dragons and rescue any damsels in distress who request my help,” added the newly named knight of the realm.

Among the 1,180 people who received awards this year were singer-songwriter PJ Harvey (MBE), sculptor Anish Kapoor (knighthood), author Joanne Harris (MBE) and artist Grayson Perry (CBE).

Mike Stratton, who played a leading role in the Human Genome Project, was knighted, while Stephen Myers, who worked on the Large Hadron Collider to help find the Higgs boson, was given an OBE.