Metallica's Lars Ulrich knighted in his home country of Denmark
Arise Sir Lars!
Last updated 14th Jun 2017
Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has been knighted in his home country of Denmark.
According to a report on Danish Broadcasting Corporation, Lars was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Dannebrog back on Friday 26th May by Margrethe II, the Queen of Denmark.
Other famous recipients of the prestigious honour include Hannibal actor Mads Mikkelsen, Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen.
The Order of Dannebrog recognises faithful servants of the modern Danish state for meritorious civil or military service, for a particular contribution to the arts, sciences or business life or for those working for Danish interests.
Born in Gentofte, Denmark in December 1963, Lars discovered his love for rock music when he attended a Deep Purple concert aged nine at Copenhagen stadium.
A prodigious tennis player as a child, having been wowed by the Deep Purple show, Lars bought ‘Fireball’ the following day and it ignited his passion for hard rock and metal.
As a result of his new found love for music, he ditched his tennis racket and was bought his first drum kit by his grandmother in the late seventies.
Founding Metallica in 1981, Lars has retained his strong ties with his home country and just this February took part in Danish TV charity fundraiser Danmarks Indsamling 2017, raising money for child poverty, where he manned the phone lines to collect money from callers.
You can see footage of Lars speaking of his love for heavy metal in Danish in 1984 here: