On this day in 1969 John Lennon returned his MBE to the Queen

 All four members of The Beatles received the honour of becoming Members of the British Empire, supposedly for the millions of pounds brought into the British economy, though some suggested it was a PR move by Prime Minister Harold Wilson. The news was greeted with anger by some who thought that it trivialised the honour as many had received the MBE for military service, leading Lennon to comment “They got them for killing people. We got ours for entertaining. I’d say we deserve ours more.”

Lennon took his medal to his Aunt Mimi’s home in Bournemouth, where she hung it over her mantelpiece, where it stayed until 1969. Lennon was reportedly uneasy about receiving the award in the first place, and by 1969 he was even more against being endorsed by the establishment, especially given their involvement in various conflicts around the globe.

So he made the decision to travel to his Aunts home and collect the award and then sent it back to Buckingham Palace, alongside a letter reading “Your Majesty, I am returning my MBE as a protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam and against ‘Cold Turkey’ slipping down the charts. With love, John Lennon of Bag.” The medal remained in the vault of the Chancery Department of the Royal Household, where it was discovered again in 2009.