Windows users, rejoice! It’s going to be a Windowful day in the knighthood, as Bill Gates is knighted in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace tomorrow.

During Bill’s excellent adventure, the Queen herself will be bestowing upon him the title of Knight Commander of the Most Excellent (Dude!) Order of the British Empire. However, he will not be able to refer to himself as Sir Bill, nor will anybody else, as Bill Gates is not a British citizen.

Speculation is running rampant as to just why Bill Gates is being knighted. A Reuters news report from London notes that he is one of the richest men in the world, however, that is probably not the reason. A more likely explanation is the view that…

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During the middle ages, the term knight referred to a mounted and armoured soldier. Originally, knights were warriors on horse-back, but the title became increasingly connected to nobility and social status, most likely because of the cost of equipping oneself in the cavalry. Knighthood eventually became a formal title bestowed on those noblemen trained for active war duty. At the beginning of the knight’s history, horsed soldiers were not so important in war; instead, foot soldiers were the main fighting force in all northern European armies. Later, as invaders kept attacking the lands that the Roman Empire had, until recently, occupied, the knight became more and more important in obtaining victory. One of the reasons being that the invading armies had cavalry (mounted troops) and the northern European foot soldiers found it increasingly difficult to maneuver against their superior foes; as a result, knights were greatly needed in battle, and the knights in shining armor that we keep in mind today were born. [Wikipedia]