The inglorious stripping of Fred Goodwin’s knighthood today puts the former RBS boss in the company of a colourful list of characters who have experienced the same dishonour.
Over the last 20 years, a total of 35 people have had their honours removed, the Financial Times reports.
The list includes Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, former Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and jockey Lester Piggott.
Mugabe’s honorary knighthood was annulled by the Queen in 2008. The gesture was made to mark British anger at human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.
Anthony Blunt had his title removed after it emerged the art historian had spied for the Soviet Union, while Piggott, a champion jockey, was stripped of his OBE in 1988 after being convicted of tax fraud.
Roger Casement, a colonial officer in the Congo, was stripped of his knighthood and executed after being convicted of treason in the First World War.
Goodwin was today stripped of his knighthood for bringing the honours system “into disrepute”.
In a statement issued on Tuesday afternoon, the Cabinet Office said the Honours Forfeiture Committee had found the “scale and severity of the impact of his actions as CEO of RBS” meant Goodwin could not keep his job.
"In 2008 the government had to provide £20bn of new equity to recapitalise RBS and ensure its survival and prevent the collapse of confidence in the British banking and payments system," the statement said.
"Both the Financial Services Authority and the Treasury select committee have investigated the reasons for this failure and its consequences.
"They are clear that the failure of RBS played an important role in the financial crisis of 2008-9 which, together with other macroeconomic factors, triggered the worst recession in the UK since the Second World War and imposed significant direct costs on British taxpayers and businesses.
"Fred Goodwin was the dominant decision maker at RBS at the time."