1. He declined “Knighthood” from the Queen
The United Kingdom, through the Queen herself, has given several awards to honored people from time to time. One of the awards is the Knighthood. It is given to an individual for a major long-term contribution in any activity, usually at a national or international level.
In late 1990s, the Queen offered this to Stephen Hawking in which he declined. He has been vocal about rejecting the title. He basically dislikes the whole concept.
He also criticizes the management of science funding by the British government. In particular, he is against the merging of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council with the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils.
He believes that the two should remain separate entities in order to optimize both quantity and quality of scientific discoveries.
