June 17, 2020 (CNN) Queen Elizabeth II knighted 100-year-old World War II veteran Captain Tom Moore, who became a national celebrity by raising millions for the UK's National Health Service (NHS), in an outdoor ceremony in Windsor Castle on Friday.
Moore raised almost £33 million ($40 million) by walking laps of his backyard, and received a knighthood after a special nomination from Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The ceremony marked the Queen's return to her public duties after the coronavirus pandemic forced her to cancel virtually all of her engagements.
She knighted Moore with her father's sword, and praised him for his fundraising efforts, saying: "Thank you so much, an amazing amount of money you raised," according to the PA Media news agency.
"I could never have imagined this would happen to me. It is such a huge honour and I am very much looking forward to meeting Her Majesty The Queen," he said earlier in the week. "It is going to be the most special of days for me." Moore was accompanied to the ceremony on Friday by his daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore, son-in-law Colin Ingram, grandson Benji and granddaughter Georgia, according to PA.
"If I kneel down I'll never get up again," he said as he left his home for Windsor Castle earlier Friday.
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