MORI chairman Sir Robert Worcester, who lives at Allington Castle at Maidstone, has received a knighthood at Buckingham Palace.

Sir Robert and Lady Worcester travelled to the Palace for him to be presented with the honour last Wednesday.

Sir Robert, who is also a non-executive director of the Kent Messenger Group, was invested as a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. The knighthood is in recognition of "outstanding service rendered to political, social and economic research and for his contribution to government policy and programmes".

American-born Sir Robert, now a fully fledged British citizen, is married with two sons and a grandaughter. He has lived in Allington Castle for the past eight years and before that at Tenterden for more than 25 years.

He is also a deputy lieutenant of Kent, Kent County Council appointed Kent Ambassador, a governer of the University of Kent and was a non-executive director of the Medway Maritime Hospital NHS Trust until 2004.