Christiane Amanpour, CNN's chief international correspondent, who has become a fixture reporting from war zones around the world, was awarded a CBE, or Commander in the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for services to journalism, the news channel announced. Wearing a large brown hat, a chic cream colored skirt suit, and a three tier diamond necklace, she beamed as the Queen pinned Amanpour’s lapel with a blue and gold cross metal inscribed with the motto "For God and the Empire."

The award, which is seen as just one step shy of knighthood, is considered a major honor for Britons. The half-Iranian half-British Ms. Amanpour joked that the honor was "very nice for my British half."