Queen Dubs Bill Gates Honorary British Knight

Britain's Queen Elizabeth bestowed an honorary knighthood on Bill Gates Wednesday but confessed to the Microsoft chairman and philanthropist that she wasn't much of a computer buff.

"She said all the kids do (use computers) and they are very useful ... but typing is not as natural for her as it is for young people," Gates told reporters from beneath a black umbrella sheltering him from the London rain.

Gates, who is one of the world's richest men, said outside Buckingham Palace that the title KBE (Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) had been awarded in recognition of his contributions to both business and charity.

I'm very lucky to have been involved in Microsoft and obviously the resources I get from that are going to the foundation."

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has an endowment of about $28 billion and has so far committed $4.9 billion to good causes, aims to improve the health of people in the developing world.

Gates and his wife said that they were honored by the award which, following advice from Britain's Foreign & Commonwealth Office, is given for contributions to British interests.

But like other U.S. recipients such as late President Ronald Reagan, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and General Norman Schwarzkopf, Gates will not be called "Sir" Bill because he is neither a British nor Commonwealth citizen.

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