According to the statement of British embassy in Dublin, Her Majesty, The Queen had chosen Bono as an honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire after recognizing his humanitarian work and services to the music industry.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair expressed his delight on the news.
"I'll leave it to others far more knowledgeable than me to talk about U2's music," he said in the letter.
"All I'll say is that, along with millions of others right across the world, I am a huge fan."
Sir Bono, 46, is "very flattered to be honored, particularly if the honor ..
. opens doors for his longstanding campaigning work against extreme poverty in Africa," a statement on the U2 Internet site said.
With Ireland withdrawing itself from the Commonwealth in 1949, the Irish officials receiving royal honors have been barred legally.
Now, the Irish government approved granting of this title to Bono.
Bono's fellow Dubliner and rocker-turned-humanitarian Bob Geldof, Bill Gates, Spanish opera singer Placido Domingo, Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and Steven Spielberg are other non-British nationals who have received this title.
For his work, Bono was given Legion D'Honneur by President Jacques Chirac on behalf of the French government in 2003, was named the Time Person of the Year 2005.
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