A statement from the Australian government Monday announced the country will no longer be bestowing the honorary titles of knights and dames, with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull calling the titles anachronistic.
The removal of the titles, granted to individuals with stellar accomplishments for public service, is the second in Australia's history. The first removal was in 1986, under the leadership of Bob Hawke's government. During that time, the titles were dubbed anachronistic as well, according to Fox News.
Turnbull said that the queen agreed to the abolishment of the honorary titles from the Order of Australia.
The cabinet agreed that "knights and dames are not appropriate in our modern honors system," said the prime minister.
The honors system was brought back by former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott last year, 28 years after it was retired. However, in January, Abbott decided to bestow the title to Queen Elizabeth II's husband Prince Phillip in a highly unpopular decision. The awarding of the title was criticized by the public, who complained that the title should have been given to a more worthy Australian, not to mention that Prince Philip already holds more than 70 titles, reported CNN.
