King Charles is making a "big mistake," according to 70s music icon Elvis Costello. The Irish singer and songwriter has urged the monarch to drop the use of "empire" from the coveted OBE Honours. The awards, first established in 1917 by King George V, recognise outstanding achievements and services to the community. As a result, those awarded become an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. Although it initially honoured non-combative service during World War I , it has since evolved to reward national or local achievements.

Now, Elvis, an OBE himself, issued a stern warning and claimed that the Royal Family's persistence in using the word "empire" represents an "unforgivable" error. The 71-year-old suggested: "Why don't they just change the name in OBE to 'excellence'? Then everybody could be happy." The Oliver's Army star was awarded the OBE by the then Prince of Wales for his contributions to music in the 2019 Birthday Honours List.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, the crooner shared that he attended the ceremony so he could "look them [the Royal family] in the eye" and labelled Buckingham Palace "tatty".

Elvis opened up about his father, musician Ross McManus and shared: "My dad used to play the staff ball at Buckingham Palace when I was a kid, and we had to go in the back door with the help. So I thought, this time I’m going in the front door. I went out of curiosity, sceptical and cynical."

He told the outlet: "The Palace itself is tatty, I didn’t lean on any pillars because I thought they may be papier mâché. But when I saw how much it meant to people in education, charity, medicine, I thought I could do with being less cynical. A marine behind me fainted from emotion.

"Afterwards, I sat with the Irish press, so I was in the Palace discussing Sinn Féin. Dad would have loved that. He was a lifelong republican and would have told me to go, like my mother did, just so I could look them in the eye."

Despite accepting the award, he is among many famous stars who have publicly aired their disapproval of the honour.

In 1969, John Lennon famously sent back his MBE as a protest against the UK's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra conflict and its backing of American military action in Vietnam.

At the time, the Chameleon icon told The Sun: "It's not what I spent my life working for."